SIU-Carbondale released its 10-day fall enrollment numbers Tuesday.
Total enrollment is 11,366, a decline of 2.8% from fall 2019. But, school officials call this is a significant change in the right direction after the last four years of 8 to 12 percent declines. They say as smaller classes graduate and larger classes enter, enrollment growth should start to happen.
SIU-Cleaders say more positive data show enrollment of first-time college students is up 31.2%, enrollment of new students from the southern Illinois region is up 32.9%, and the freshman-to-sophomore retention rate has increased to 80.6%, the highest in 20 years...higher than the national average retention rate of 73.5% reported by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center report for all institutions from 2009 to 2017.
Admissions director John Frost says a new recruitment strategy, increasing outreach with high school counselors, and enhanced marketing strategies have contributed to the enrollment figures.
A more detailed breakdown of the numbers click here.
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