A state higher education budget cut effective immediately means Kentucky’s universities will have less money to develop on-campus programs that help retain students.

For Todd Misener, assistant director of Western Kentucky University’s Health and Fitness Lab, cutting funding to universities leads to missed opportunities for students. He recently studied students’ engagement with campus life and found that more-engaged students were more likely to stick around.

“Any time you cut funding for these resources, what I say that this data says is you’re cutting opportunities for students to connect and engage,” he said.

Gov. Matt Bevin ordered Kentucky’s colleges and universities to take a 4.5 percent cut Thursday. Additionally, a 9 percent cut could hit public universities and colleges over the next two years, contingent upon a continuing budget battle between Kentucky’s House and Senate. Bevin and the Senate have also proposed tying university funding to performance on educational outcomes aligning with workforce needs.

Misener focused on students from the fall of 2013 to the fall of 2015 to get a better sense of how campus resources were reaching students. He assigned one point to students based on whether they were in a fraternity or sorority, if they used recreation facilities on campus more than twice, if they engaged in the campus wellness program more than twice or whether they played in an intramural event.

“Those are the only four metrics that we have at our disposal right now,” Misener said, explaining that information is often reported in the aggregate and doesn’t track “real people.”

Misener found that first year full-time students who participated in two or more different Student Affairs programs had a 17.5 percent higher fall to fall retention rate than other first year full-time students.

WKU wellness program, known as WellU, also helped retain students. Between the fall 2013 and fall 2015, the average fall to fall retention rate for first year full-time students was engaging in two or more WellU events was 11.5 percent higher than similar students.

Findings also point to long-lasting results. Another finding looked at first year full-time freshmen and full-time sophomores engaged in two or more Student Affairs programs between the fall 2014 and 2015. It found a 15 percent higher retention rate for the group.

Stress and anxiety also impact students, according to survey data collected by WKU. Students have consistently ranked stress and anxiety as the two most severe factors that affect academic performance.

College life is about more than just going to class, Misener said.

“It’s an opportunity for students to explore, learn something about themselves, develop their own personal identity,” he said. “Students who feel connected to a university environment from a social perspective stay.”

For Brian Kuster, WKU’s vice president for student affairs, the results confirm that student involvement on campus leads to better retention.

“I think that’s the key is finding a connection and connecting them with other students,” he said.

University officials recently released a spring enrollment report comparing March 21, 2015, to March 19. The final enrollment number for spring 2016 is 18,596. That’s an uptick of 345 students compared to enrollment last spring, which totaled 18,251. As of March 19, WKU is down 29 international students and 159 non-traditional students.

— Follow education reporter Aaron Mudd on Twitter at twitter.com/aaron_muddbgdn or visit bgdailynews.com.