FALL 2018 ENROLLMENT SNAPSHOT FOR ILLINOIS PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
The following fall enrollment snapshot for the Illinois public universities was produced using data collected over the last four academic years via IBHE’s Fall Enrollment I survey. It emphasizes full-time equivalent enrollment (FTE)1.
As shown in Table 1, overall fall enrollment in 2018-19 at Illinois public universities (including both undergraduate and graduate programs) declined -1% (-2,301 FTE) from academic year 2017-18 and -5% (-8,878 FTE) from academic year 2015-16. Southern Illinois University Carbondale (-13%), Western Illinois University (-11%), and Northeastern Illinois University (-10%) all experienced enrollment declines of 10% or greater relative to 2017-18. Eastern Illinois University (+10%), the University of Illinois at Chicago (+4%), and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (+2%) experienced an overall increase in fall enrollment relative to 2017-18.
Table 1: Combined Undergraduate and Graduate Enrollment (based on FTE)
Combined Enrollment Change in Enrollment in 2018
|
Fall 2015 |
Fall 2016 |
Fall 2017 |
Fall 2018 |
From 2015 |
From 2017 |
|
CSU | 3,618 | 2,734 | 2,429 | 2,267 | -37% | -7% |
EIU | 7,282 | 6,234 | 5,339 | 5,892 | -19% | 10% |
GSU | 3,920 | 3,886 | 3,554 | 3,320 | -15% | -7% |
ISU | 18,183 | 18,533 | 18,308 | 18,115 | 0% | -1% |
NEIU | 6,366 | 6,101 | 5,777 | 5,201 | -18% | -10% |
NIU | 16,502 | 15,712 | 14,982 | 14,352 | -13% | -4% |
SIUC | 14,995 | 13,880 | 12,463 | 10,851 | -28% | -13% |
SIUE | 11,985 | 11,870 | 11,523 | 10,942 | -9% | -5% |
UIC | 28,687 | 28,935 | 30,418 | 31,620 | 10% | 4% |
UIS | 3,921 | 3,985 | 3,526 | 3,211 | -18% | -9% |
UIUC | 47,644 | 48,765 | 49,634 | 50,755 | 7% | 2% |
WIU | 9,561 | 8,934 | 8,134 | 7,260 | -24% | -11% |
Total | 172,664 | 169,569 | 166,087 | 163,786 | -5% | -1% |
Undergraduate Enrollment (FTE)
Overall undergraduate fall enrollment at public universities declined -2% (-2,249 FTE) from academic year 2017-18 to 2018-19 and -6% (-8,405 FTE) when compared to 2015-16. As shown in Table 2, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (-14%), Northeastern Illinois University (-11%), and Western Illinois University (-11%) experienced undergraduate enrollment declines of greater than 10% from 2017-18 to 2018-19. Eastern Illinois University (+11%) and the University of Illinois at Chicago experienced increases in undergraduate enrollment (+8%) relative to 2017-18. The overall enrollment decline at public universities in 2018-19 can be mostly attributed to the decrease in undergraduate enrollment.
Table 2: Undergraduate Enrollment (based on FTE)
Undergraduate Enrollment Change in Enrollment in 2018
Fall 2015 |
Fall 2016 |
Fall 2017 |
Fall 2018 |
From 2015 |
From 2017 |
|
CSU | 2,571 | 1,721 | 1,535 | 1,500 | -42% | -2% |
EIU | 6,429 | 5,264 | 4,442 | 4,944 | -23% | 11% |
GSU | 2,447 | 2,456 | 2,387 | 2,332 | -5% | -2% |
ISU | 16,792 | 17,056 | 16,826 | 16,559 | -1% | -2% |
NEIU | 5,522 | 5,222 | 4,902 | 4,380 | -21% | -11% |
NIU | 13,328 | 12,649 | 12,136 | 11,601 | -13% | -4% |
SIUC | 11,670 | 10,829 | 9,763 | 8,369 | -28% | -14% |
SIUE | 10,350 | 10,273 | 9,912 | 9,302 | -10% | -6% |
UIC | 17,022 | 17,416 | 18,949 | 20,385 | 20% | 8% |
UIS | 2,265 | 2,287 | 2,282 | 2,162 | -5% | -5% |
UIUC | 34,041 | 34,592 | 34,573 | 34,702 | 2% | 0% |
WIU | 8,407 | 7,818 | 6,981 | 6,203 | -26% | -11% |
Total | 130,844 | 127,583 | 124,688 | 122,439 | -6% | -2% |
Graduate Enrollment (FTE)
Total graduate enrollment at public universities in the fall of 2018-19 was nearly identical to 2017-18. As shown in Table 3, the University of Illinois at Springfield (-16%), Governors State University (-15%), and Chicago State University (-14%) had the largest declines in fall graduate enrollment relative to 2017-18. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (+6%) and Eastern Illinois University (+6%) experienced an increase in graduate enrollment relative to 2017-18, as did Illinois State University (+5%) and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (+2%).
Table 3: Graduate Enrollment (based on FTE)
Graduate Enrollment Change in Enrollment in 2018
Fall 2015 | Fall 2016 | Fall 2017 | Fall 2018 | From 2015 | From 2017 | |
CSU | 1,047 | 1,013 | 894 | 767 | -27% | -14% |
EIU | 853 | 970 | 897 | 948 | 11% | 6% |
GSU | 1,473 | 1,430 | 1,167 | 988 | -33% | -15% |
ISU | 1,391 | 1,477 | 1,482 | 1,556 | 12% | 5% |
NEIU | 844 | 879 | 875 | 821 | -3% | -6% |
NIU | 3,174 | 3,063 | 2,846 | 2,751 | -13% | -3% |
SIUC | 3,325 | 3,051 | 2,700 | 2,482 | -25% | -8% |
SIUE | 1,635 | 1,597 | 1,611 | 1,640 | 0% | 2% |
UIC | 11,665 | 11,519 | 11,469 | 11,235 | -4% | -2% |
UIS | 1,656 | 1,698 | 1,244 | 1,049 | -37% | -16% |
UIUC | 13,603 | 14,173 | 15,079 | 16,053 | 18% | 6% |
WIU | 1,154 | 1,116 | 1,153 | 1,057 | -8% | -8% |
Total | 41,820 | 41,986 | 41,399 | 41,347 | -1% | 0% |
1 Full-time equivalent (FTE) is a single value that includes all attempted credit hours for all students (full- and part-time) converted into a full-time basis by program level (undergraduate, graduate, and
professional). For example, 15 undergraduate hours are the equivalent of one undergraduate FTE and 12 graduate hours are the equivalent of one graduate FTE.
Illinois Board of Higher Education. (September 2018). Fall 2018 Enrollment Snapshot (IBHE DataPoints 2018-10). Springfield, IL.