U. of I. leads enrollment increases despite COVID

State universities defy pandemic to welcome more students this fall

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is welcoming another record number of students this fall, despite the pandemic. (Twitter/Illini Housing)

By Ted Cox

Led by the state’s college flagship, public universities are seeing increased enrollment across the state, in defiance of concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The University of Illinois System announced Wednesday that its total enrollment had topped 90,000 for the first time. The eighth straight year of record enrollment was led by the flagship University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which increased enrollment to 52,331 after topping 50,000 for the first time a year ago.

“We are encouraged to see that an Illinois educational experience remains a priority for students and families, even in these unprecedented times,” said Chancellor Robert Jones. “Students recognize our institutional brand as one of the best in the world, and we have found innovative ways to provide a top-quality education during a global pandemic.”

Part of the credit goes to the university’s groundbreaking saliva-based test for COVID-19, which has been lauded by Gov. Pritzker. It enabled the university to set the ambitious goal of testing all students and staff twice a week.

Graduate students fueled this year’s increase, however, as undergraduate enrollment declined about 350 students to 33,492. Last year’s record freshman enrollment of 7,665 held steady despite the pandemic at 7,530 this fall, as the university reported that “an additional 277 students asked to delay their admission to a later term, compared with about 60 in a typical year.”

“This year’s new freshmen have endured so much uncertainty regarding their college choice,” said Andy Borst, director of undergraduate admissions. “We are pleased that so many students decided to enroll this year, and we will continue to work with the students who asked to delay admission so they can join us for a later term.”

The increase in grad students applied across the system, with a 5 percent rise, while undergrads held steady with a drop of just 0.3 percent.

“Even in a year of historic challenges, enrollment grew to another all-time high,” said President Tim Killeen. “I am proud that students continue to turn to our universities to achieve their dreams, and help us expand the pipeline of world-class talent that will move our state and nation forward.”

“Even in a year of historic challenges, enrollment grew to another all-time high.”

University of Illinois President Tim Killeen (Illinois.gov)

The University of Illinois at Chicago recorded its sixth straight year of record enrollment, 33,518, while the Springfield campus reported a slight decline to 4,146.

After Northern Illinois University in DeKalb hit a 50-year low in enrollment last year, it bounced back in the midst of the pandemic to see the student body increase to 16,769. NIU was encouraged by an increase in its freshman class a year ago, and it solidified those gains with an 8 percent increase in freshmen, to 2,047, while increasing its retention of first-year students by 6 percentage points.

“NIU increased total enrollment during this challenging and dynamic time by attracting a freshman class that is strong in number, talent, and diversity, and by welcoming back continuing undergraduate, graduate, and law students who appreciate the quality and affordability of our educational experience,” said President Lisa Freeman. “It is deeply gratifying that students were able to look beyond the uncertainty of these last several months and recognize that NIU offers a tremendous combination of access and excellence. “

Southern Illinois University Carbondale was hoping to follow the same trajectory. Although total enrollment declined slightly again this fall from last year, down a few hundred to 11,366, SIUC’s first-time students increased by almost a third, 31.2 percent, led by a 32.9 percent increase in first-time students from its southern Illinois region. It too saw an increase in its retention rate for last year’s freshman — 80.6 percent, the highest mark in that category in 20 years.

“Our official enrollment figures give us a lot to celebrate,” said Chancellor Austin Lane, who took the post July. “Both applications and admissions of new students are up, and we are keeping more of the students we enroll. We are turning the tide.

“This is significant change in the right direction,” he added. “As we attract and retain larger classes, we should see positive percentages in enrollment growth very soon.”

The same went for Western Illinois University in Macomb, which saw enrollment slide by about 200 to 7,490, but saw its number of new students rise for the first time in a decade, a 13.7 percent increase, led by an 18.9 percent increase in the freshman class to 1,064. Overall fall enrollment was also up 7.1 percent from the spring.

“Last year, when I took over as interim president, I stated publicly that our No. 1 objective was to improve enrollment and retention,” said Interim President Martin Abraham. “For the first time in 10 years, new student enrollment has increased relative to last fall. In addition, overall WIU enrollment had declined for each of the past six semesters. That's an unusual trend, since fall enrollment is normally higher than spring, so I stated a second enrollment goal for us — that our fall 2020 enrollment would exceed our spring 2020 enrollment. I am proud to say that we have broken that eight-semester streak.”

Eastern Illinois University in Charleston boasted a 10.5 percent increase in overall enrollment this fall, to 8,626, although that was spurred by a 40 percent increase in off-campus students.

Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal saw its overall enrollment stay almost exactly the same at 20,720, after reclaiming the 20,000 figure two years ago. ISU too saw a 4 percent increase in grad students, while freshmen declined only slightly from last fall’s 30-year high to 3,353.

“We are pleased to have a very talented group of new freshmen, transfers, and graduate students this year, as well as a significant number of students who are returning for their sophomore, junior, and senior years,” said Jana Albrecht, associate vice president of Enrollment Management. “We have our second-largest Honors class, and our retention rates are significantly higher compared to the last five years.”

The public universities no doubt benefited from increase funding for higher education under Gov. Pritzker, as well as perhaps state students preferring to stay closer to home in the midst of a pandemic. Now the colleges simply have to maintain those gains — and keep students healthy and on campus.