The official enrollment report will not be released until Sept. 4, but administrators are already preparing for what it could bring.

In an interview with WSIU that aired Monday morning, SIU President Glenn Poshard said enrollment was down 800 students on the Carbondale campus. Poshard said the information is about two weeks old, from when the interview was originally done.

‘That was what we anticipated at the time,’ Poshard said. ‘I don’t know what’s happened in the last couple of weeks.’

Poshard said he does not know whether the estimate has increased or declined in that time. The economic situation, the loss of grant funding and decline in state appropriations are negative influences on enrollment numbers, Poshard said.

‘All of those things combined are certainly going to impact the number of students we get,’ Poshard said.

Chancellor Sam Goldman said he would not comment on specific enrollment numbers, but said this has been a very different year for the university.

‘We are still registering people,’ Goldman said. ‘We are seeing some surges coming in.’

Victoria Valle, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management, said many potential students have opted for community colleges in their hometown areas, believing they can no longer afford to attend a university.

‘Community colleges probably are going to be up because they’re less expensive,’ Valle said.

Goldman said the official numbers would come out in due course, but while many are still holding their hope for increased numbers, the reality of the recession may prove otherwise. Poshard said with the set of circumstances facing the university, it would be highly unusual for SIUC’s enrollment to increase.

Madeleine Leroux can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 254 or [email protected].