EIU Media Relations

EIU enrollment increases 7 percent

(Charleston, IL) – After reporting a five percent increase in spring-to-spring enrollment a year ago, Eastern Illinois University’s enrollment has jumped another seven percent from spring 2018 to spring 2019. According to official 10^th-day data from the university, the university’s spring 2019 enrollment sits at 7,503 students—487 more than the previous spring semester.

The increase follows a familiar trend for the university, which once again has seen considerable boosts to its freshman, graduate, and dual-credit enrollments.

Of notable significance to EIU’s spring 2019 10^th-day enrollment snapshot:

• EIU’s degree-seeking graduate enrollment for spring 2019 reached 1,454 students—its highest point in nine years for the spring semester and a 5.5 percent increase over spring 2018’s numbers.
• New transfer students from other four-year institutions increased by 80 percent; more meaningfully, 59 percent of those transfer students who are residents of Illinois are returning to EIU—and Illinois—from out-of-state institutions.

University administrators credit the continued enrollment increase to heightened enrollment efforts, a stable and predictable state budget, and EIU’s robust and rising reputation as a first-choice option in Illinois higher education.

“Eastern’s enduring success and future growth are byproducts of our comprehensive and encouraging commitment to our students,” said Eastern President Dr. David Glassman. “EIU invests in our students completely, because the phenomenal relationships we create together today will empower them to become the best versions of themselves tomorrow.”

Dean of the Graduate School Dr. Ryan Hendrickson attributes EIU’s graduate enrollment gains to the high-quality programs the Graduate School provides, coupled with the expansion of increasingly accessible online learning opportunities and sustained interest from international students seeking an advanced degree from a preeminent university.

“We are especially excited about our newly created accelerated graduate programs,” Hendrickson said. “Implemented this spring, they create unique opportunities for students wanting to begin a graduate program while still enrolled as an undergraduate. As a result, students will benefit from reduced costs, and EIU will benefit from additional graduate enrollments in the future.” 

Josh Norman, EIU’s associate vice president for Enrollment Management, said he’s happy with EIU’s enrollment advancements—but admits he and his team are far from done.

“We’ve made significant progress, and we’re certainly proud of our recent enrollment achievements,” Norman said. “Our commitment to high school dual-credit students and the cost savings our program provides them continues to be a significant draw. But anyone familiar with our EIU culture knows we’re always yearning to do more, always wanting to go that extra mile. So we’ll continue to prioritize our enrollment strategies as we work toward meeting EIU’s future enrollment goals.”

Over the past two and a half years, EIU has created or enhanced a wide variety of programs, services and outreach tactics to create planned, incremental enrollment growth at the undergraduate and graduate level alike. A variety of new programs and services are contributing to this enrollment growth this spring. Other programs are slated for IBHE approval or are being developed by EIU to meet additional community and regional workforce needs. These enhancements are being driven by EIU’s Vitalization Project—a multiple-year plan that aims to directly confront and counteract a combination of higher education challenges in the state of Illinois, and to proactively respond to the business and workforce needs of the greater east central Illinois region.

EIU’s spring 2019 figures come from the university’s 10th-day enrollment reports. Tenth-day enrollment reports are the nationally accepted standard for tracking university and college enrollments. Several of EIU’s standalone enrollment reports are combined to create a comprehensive university enrollment report that, once complete, will be available at https://www.eiu.edu/ir/tenth_day_enrollment.php.

For more information about EIU, and to learn more about its growing assortment of programs and services, visit the university’s website at www.eiu.edu, or call EIU’s public information office at (217) 581-7400.