Southern Illinois University’s overall enrollment for the fall 2024 semester grew 3.8% to 11,790 according to numbers released by the University on Wednesday, Sept. 4. Undergraduate enrollment rose 4.5% and graduate program enrollment is up 2.3% according to a news release from SIU. In-person enrollment is up 1.6% from last year.
The university welcomed 1,758 new freshmen for the fall semester, 8.45% more than last year and is the fifth consecutive year the freshman class has seen an increase according to the release. New students with a GPA of 3.0 or higher have increased by 8.4% from the previous year.
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9,379 students take classes in person, 8,953 being on campus while 426 attend classes at off-campus sites. 2,411 students are enrolled online, a 13% increase from last year according to SIU Director of Communications Kim Renfeld. According to the release, this year marks the highest enrollment jump in 33 years, the highest overall boost of enrollment since 1991 and highest percentage increase since 1978.
The diversity of SIU’s student body increased with 9% more Black students, 12% more Hispanic students and 2.5% more international students.
Online student enrollment increased with the help of the Saluki Step Ahead program which allows graduates of partnering community colleges to earn their degrees online through SIU.
“We have agreements, actually, with all 48 community colleges in the state,” Chancellor Austin A Lane said. “We worked that deal out about two and a half years ago with the Illinois Community College Board.”
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Saluki Step Ahead increased enrollment 111% including 62% in the southern Illinois region.
SIU’s retention rate is 67%, Lane said. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, the national average is 76.5% as of 2022.
“We’re not satisfied with that but we’ve got plans for that fall to fall retention to be even closer to 80%,” Lane said. “We’re putting our infrastructure in place, making sure that we’ve got the right support staff that’s here to help those students get from orientation to graduation.”
According to Lane, not retaining a student isn’t always because of academic reasons, but rather some students being unable to cover the final gap in the cost of their tuition.
“So we actually probably would have been closer to 12,000 students if we had a few of those students, if they have been able to cover some of the cost of their tuition for the next semester,” Lane said. “If we could fill that gap, we would see our numbers increase even more.”
The university is on track to enroll 15,000 students by 2030, set in the IMAGiNE 2030 strategic plan, the release said. According to Lane, the priority is to highlight and red carpet the southern Illinois regions to prospective local students.
“We’ve got to be connected to those local school districts, those superintendents, you know, we’ve got to make sure they know and understand that we want their students to stay right here,” Lane said. “I think that’s our number one priority is to keep those relationships alive and well and to really make sure they have access to SIU Carbondale.”
While administration celebrates fall 2024 trends, they are already looking to 2025 in terms of attracting and retaining students.
“It’s great to celebrate this accomplishment but you know, we’re already recruiting for the next cohort fall 2025 students, so applications are free up through, I think, October 31,” Lane said. “But you know we’re looking forward to recruiting more Salukis.”
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