September 03, 2026
SIU Carbondale delivers historic enrollment and retention growth
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale has delivered one of the most significant institutional turnarounds in its history — recording overall enrollment levels not seen in the last eight years — reaching above 12,000 students, with an incoming first-year class size not seen for 11 years. Fall 2026 semester enrollment grew to 12,066 students, which represents an increase of 281 more students, or a 2.4% increase from fall 2025.
The new undergraduate incoming class grew substantially to 1,779 students, an increase of 16%. Of the new undergraduate students, those from Southern Illinois increased by 24% from the previous year. Transfer student enrollment grew by 7% and online enrollment grew by 14%.
“Universities locally and nationally are facing losses in enrollment, and last year’s total enrollment for Southern was down five students. We used that as a motivator to expand our strategic efforts to recruit and retain students. As a result, we are experiencing significant growth in multiple categories this fall,” Chancellor Austin A. Lane said.
SIU Carbondale is recognized as being only one of 21 R1 research institutions in the nation that is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as an Opportunity University — meaning it enrolls a high number of underrepresented students from urban and rural backgrounds who then go on to achieve high earnings after graduation. Pell-eligible students increased by 5%; Black/African American students increased by 14%; Hispanic students increased by 8%; and Asian students increased 7%.
Enrollment in the region continues to see significant growth, supported especially by the university’s partnership with the SIU Foundation, which hosted over 20 “Takeover Tours” to engage alumni. Each event provided a pathway for the university’s enrollment management team to also connect with prospective students, high schools, and community colleges in over 50 cities. As a result, the overall enrollment for students from Southern Illinois increased by 5%.
The university’s enrollment growth has also contributed to 7% more students living in on-campus housing.
Fall 2026 was also the first fall term when the university’s new dual enrollment program, called Saluki Start, was fully implemented. Saluki Start offers high school students in the region the ability to earn free online SIU Carbondale course credits while still in high school. Nineteen high schools are part of this partnership, with 81 high school students participating in fall 2026.
The retention rate of new students continuing from their first year to their second year surged 7.2 percentage points over the prior year to 73.9%. Contributing to this substantial overall retention increase were major gains occurring across various student demographics, such as students from Southern Illinois increasing 3%, students from outside Southern Illinois increasing 8%, conditionally admitted students increasing 8%, Black/African American students increasing 12%, Hispanic students increasing 10%, and white students increasing 3%.
“I want to thank our campus community for their hard work and dedication. These increases are the result of a true team effort across the university,” Lane said. “We are confident that our efforts will continue to yield strong results in the future, with Fall 2027 already receiving over 1,000 applications. We look forward to celebrating this momentum together at our October 5th campus cookout.”