By Blake Haas
NORMAL – Illinois State University freshman enrollment is the largest freshman class in over 33-years, increasing by 1.2 percent over the last academic year.
ISU welcomed 3,860 freshmen to campus for the 2019-2020 academic year and saw a total number of graduate students grow for the fourth year in a row, bringing the total enrollment to 20,878.
“This is proof that students recognize the high quality of educational, growth, and leadership opportunities the University offers,” said ISU President Larry Dietz. “Once they arrive on campus, students achieve real success, as evidenced by Illinois State’s high student retention and graduation rates.”
The University’s total student population includes 18,250 undergraduates and 2,628 graduate students. Transfer student numbers for this fall stand at 1,869.
Meanwhile, Heartland Community College welcomed the school’s largest freshman class in over four years, with 1,554 new students.
“It’s encouraging to see more new faces beginning their college career at Heartland,” added Heartland President Keith Cornille. “As we continue our strategic enrollment management efforts we hope to see enrollment growth continue as the College continues its premier transfer preparation and also adds new Work Ready certification programs targeted at those in the community seeking to change or advance their career opportunities.”
Enrollment numbers at Heartland increased seven percent in the number of undergraduate students, and an increase of 3.7 percent in the number of credit hours they were taking.
“The biggest jump of student numbers come from freshman who took dual credit College NOW classes,” said Sara Diel-Hunt, Vice President, Enrollment and Student Service. “We are seeing more students get their start on college courses in high school and then bring those credits to Heartland. Some of these students earn enough dual credit to complete their associate’s degree just one year after high school.”
Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].
