Illinois universities report modest enrollment shifts
[September 12, 2026]
By Sean Reed | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Public universities across Illinois are reporting
differing 10-day enrollment numbers, with some schools announcing
record-breaking data, as other schools have reported modest declines.
Incoming freshman classes have also trended upward across multiple
schools this year.
Across 12 different public universities in Illinois, eight have released
fall 2026 10-day enrollment census numbers, which are required to be
reported to the Illinois Board of Higher Education each semester.
Among the eight, five saw enrollment increase year-over-year, including
two of the three within the University of Illinois System and both
Southern Illinois University campuses.
U of I Urbana-Champaign and U of I Chicago both reported campus
enrollment records, with 61,060 and 37,199 enrollees respectively.
Similarly, SIU Carbondale and Edwardsville reported growth, with 12,066
and 13,663 students respectively.
State Rep. Dave Severin, R-Benton, who serves as minority spokesperson
on the House Higher Education Appropriations Committee, told The Center
Square he thought the SIU numbers were “encouraging.”
“It's very encouraging and so they're doing a really good job,” Severin
said. “The high schools that I have in my district, the kids that are
going to go on to junior colleges or universities, my goal is to
challenge them to find a community college or a university in Southern
Illinois or in the state of Illinois, so we can keep the sharp minds of
our future,” Severin said.
Chicago State University reported a 10% overall rise in enrollment,
about 2,755 students, based on the previous year’s reported 2,505.
On the flipside, Illinois State University reported 21,577 total
enrolled students, a modest decline from 2025.
Jana Albrecht, the university’s associate vice president for enrollment
management, told The Center Square about the school’s annual enrollment.
“This is the first year we've had a slight decline in the last five
years. So we've really been on a sort of a growth pattern here over the
last five years.Our total number of undergraduate students is 19,128.
Our total number of graduate students is 2,449,” Albrecht said. “96% of
our incoming class is from Illinois, in Illinois counties and Illinois
high schools.”
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Watterson Dining Commons at Illinois State University in
Bloomington, Illinois. Photo: Sean Reed / The Center Square
Northern Illinois University reported 15,811 students enrolled, 267
fewer than the previous year.
Eastern Illinois University reported 7,651 students, a roughly 456
student decrease year-over-year.
Among the state’s smallest universities, University of Illinois
Springfield had 4,008 students enrolled, an overall decline from the
prior year, but reported the second-largest freshman class in the
institution’s history, enrolling 353 new freshmen.
Many of the universities reported increased freshman class size,
revealing an unexpected pattern when considering a projected
enrollment cliff as a result of decreased birth rates around and
after the 2008 recession.
ISU saw a slight decline in first-year students, which Albrecht
didn’t attribute solely to a demographic dropoff.
“I think part of it is probably demographics for us and having fewer
high school graduates, since we so heavily rely on the population
from Illinois,” Albrecht said. “There's probably also some
non-consumption going on that we have students that still maybe
aren't deciding to attend college at all.”
Albrecht noted the university has focused on making attendance
affordable for Illinoisans, especially in recent years.
The landscape surrounding university funding and costs is shaped by
state lawmakers, who weighed the “Adequate and Equitable Public
University Funding Act” during their spring session this year.
The law, initially sponsored by embattled Rep. Carol Ammons,
D-Urbana, would’ve provided $1.85 billion in additional funding over
15 years, giving each university a specific percentage based on
need.
The law was opposed by larger state schools over concerns it would
unfairly benefit smaller schools. A source for the supplemental
state funding hasn’t been presented.
Though not passed, the bill’s sponsor was changed in August, and
could be considered during the fall veto session.
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