Enrollment numbers at the University of Illinois Springfield held steady for the fall semester officials announced Wednesday, after the school had two years of increased numbers.

A total of 4,628 students were enrolled at the 10-day count, compared to 4,661 students last year, a less than 1% dip, though the number of new first-year freshmen, first-time transfer students and online students all increased.

Ten-day figures are the traditional benchmark for reporting enrollment among U.S. colleges and universities.

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A record 97,772 students enrolled across the University of Illinois System for the fall semester, eclipsing the previous record of 94,861 established in 2022

The U of I System is comprised of campuses in Urbana-Champaign and Chicago in addition to Springfield.

One snafu affecting enrollment was the U.S. Department of Education’s delay in opening the newly-overhauled Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.

UIS hosted multiple online workshops and in-person events to assist students with the revised application process.

“We’re happy with where we ended up (numbers-wise),” said Vickie Cook, UIS vice chancellor for enrollment and retention.

UIS officials reported 262 new freshmen and 449 first-time transfer students enrolled at UIS, both representing an increase from fall 2023.

Online enrollment saw a 3.9% increase, with 1,967 online majors this fall, up from 1,893 last fall.

Slightly more than half of the university’s enrollment consists of graduate students.

While the majority of “first-time freshmen” are in the 18-to-20-year-old range, Cook said, some students, especially post-pandemic, continue to take a “a gap year” or otherwise took time off before heading to school.

“We’ll see how the trends change over time, but it’s very possible that students will continue to take some time off after high school before continuing to the university,” Cook said.

The university is continuing to look at how it can assist transfer students “in making the bridge to UIS” more effective, Cook added.

Around 80% of those transfer students are from community colleges, like Lincoln Land Community College, Illinois Central College and Parkland College, she said, though students tend to be older in age range.

Illinois residents make up a little over two-thirds of the student body, or about 3,100 students.

International students represent 20.7% of the total enrollment, with 957 students, primarily from India, Nigeria and Ghana.

“UIS remains a popular destination for international students,” Cook said. “Our international population enhances the diversity and global perspective of the campus community.”

School officials are also cognizant of “the demographic cliff” hitting Illinois, meaning a smaller pool of high school students to draw from, Cook said.

Best Colleges reported that beginning in 2025 and over the succeeding four years, the number of 18-year-olds nationwide will decrease by 15% or approximately 576,000 students.

“We have to adapt and adjust as populations change,” Cook acknowledged.

FAFSA, Cook said, will continue to be an issue this coming year. The form will be open to all students by Dec. 1 or two months later than normal.

“We are hopeful,” Cook said, “that this year they will have fewer errors and that students and their families will have a little more confidence in being able to complete the FAFSA in a pretty relatively good time frame.”

Cook also noted that the university initiated “last-half classes” or accelerated eight-week classes, so students won’t lose an entire semester. Those classes begin Oct. 21.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.