September 07, 2005

SIUC enrollment is steady as predicted

by Sue Davis

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Fall semester on-campus enrollment at Southern Illinois University Carbondale stands at 19,130, up five students from last fall when on-campus numbers stood at 19, 125.

SIUC administrators had predicted a flat enrollment for the fall semester.

"This is what we expected and we continue to work on long-range plans to increase enrollment at the graduate and undergraduate levels," said SIUC Provost and Vice Chancellor John M. Dunn.

Total enrollment at SIUC this fall is 21,441, down 148 (one-half of 1 percent) from last fall's total of 21,589. Fewer students enrolled at SIUC's off-campus programs at military bases, Dunn said.

"These are solid numbers that reflect changes in military staffing at home and abroad," Dunn said. "We provide a very flexible schedule for those serving our country, and at times we do see our numbers shift, but we know most will re-enroll when their assignments allow them to continue their studies."

SIUC Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Larry Dietz said that recruitment and other outreach efforts in deep Southern Illinois have paid dividends.

"We have 53 more transfer students on-campus than we did a year ago, not counting those from our program in Japan," he said. "We also have more students from our Southern Illinois schools coming to study here."

While the numbers reflect the official 10th-day count used in standardizing data from institutions statewide, they don't reflect additional students who enrolled after Sept. 2 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They also don't reflect the 20 or so students who have indicated they have been or may be called up for National Guard duty to help in the Gulf Coast region.

Total graduate enrollment at SIUC stands at 4,744 up from 4,717 last year. Total undergraduate enrollment stands at 16,697 down from 16,872 last year.

Becoming the best student-responsive public research university in Illinois is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the long-range plan the University is following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.