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WNIJ's summary of news items around our state.

Higher Education Enrollment Numbers Down Across The State

Flickr user / alamosbasement "old school" (CC BY 2.0)

A preliminary report on college enrollment in Illinois shows a decline at all sectors of higher education.

All three categories -- public universities, community colleges and private colleges — showed an overall drop in enrollment, according to a report from the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Illinois State University and the three University of Illinois campuses showed slight increases; all other public schools declined by an average of almost 3 percent compared to last year.   

Private non-profit schools showed less of a decline, with an overall decrease of about two percent.

State Rep. Bob Pritchard, R-Hinckley, says the legislature deserves some of the blame:

“Some of that can be attributed to the uncertainty of state funding for the university,” Pritchard said. “There were several universities that weren’t sure they were going to be able to open in the fall.”

Among community colleges, the average was an almost four-percent decrease. Private for-profit schools showed the biggest overall decrease at about six percent.

Page 266 of the report shows the overall attendance shifts.  

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