Illinois State University Announces Fall Enrollment

Illinois State University enrollment grew 2 percent to 20,856 for the 2009-10 academic year, while the retention rate for returning freshmen reached almost 85 percent.

The enrollment total, the highest since 2002, includes 3,033 new freshmen and 1,926 new transfer students. Graduate enrollment increased slightly to 2,512. This year's freshman class was smaller than last year's large class as planned. An increase in new transfer student enrollment offset the smaller freshman numbers. Enrollment of African-American students rose 18 percent, while Hispanic student enrollment jumped 34 percent.

The retention rate for fall 2008 new freshmen returning in fall 2009 increased to 84.9 percent, up from 83.4 percent last year. The retention rate for African-American students increased from 73.3 percent to 80.7 percent, and the rate for Hispanic students increased from 73.2 percent to 77.9 percent.

"Illinois State continues to be a top-choice university for highly-qualified students," said President Al Bowman. "Our enrollment remains solid, but even more gratifying is that our freshman ACT average reached 24.3. Our graduation rate hit 70 percent, and freshman retention rates also grew impressively."

"Our overall enrollment goal at Illinois State remains unchanged at 20,000 to 21,000 students," said Jonathan Rosenthal, associate vice president for Enrollment Management and Academic Services. "We met that goal while increasing both the academic profile and the diversity of our incoming class."