September 06, 2006

SIUC's fall enrollment stands at 21,003, a drop of 2%

by Sue Davis

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Official fall enrollment at Southern Illinois University Carbondale stands at 21,003, a drop of about 2 percent from last fall when total enrollment was 21,441. SIUC Provost and Vice Chancellor John M. Dunn, who began overseeing the enrollment management functions of the University on July 1, said he is focusing on next fall.

"Our goal is to increase enrollment to 23,000 by 2010 and I'm confident we can do that," he said. "We have hired two new recruiters for the Chicago area and have established an incentive model for academic colleges who show enrollment increases next fall."

Under Dunn's plan, colleges with increases in undergraduate enrollment will receive corresponding budget increases next fall. In addition, the University is exploring new linkages with community colleges and Penn State has selected SIUC as one of 37 universities across the country to develop a first-year experience program. Southern also plans to invest more in marketing and has established a faculty mentoring program for all students.

SIUC Chancellor Walter V. Wendler said the University will focus on meeting the needs of its students. "We have 21,003 students this semester and 6,981 faculty and staff to help them achieve their educational aspirations. That's a 3-to-1 ratio and our students should expect excellent service."

A look at fall 2006 numbers shows there are 138 more students attending SIUC from off-campus locations, primarily from degree programs offered at military bases. There are 2, 449 off-campus students this fall compared to 2, 311 last fall.

On-campus enrollment, including six students in the teach-out phase of SIUC's program in Japan, stands at 18, 554, a drop of 570 students from19,124 last year.

There are 16,294 undergraduates on campus, 360 law students, 289 medical students, 61 Medprep students, 2,911 students seeking master's degrees and 1,088 doctoral students.