This fall, enrollment at public universities in Illinois is at its highest level in a decade, More than 190,000 students are enrolled this fall, the most since 2015.
Of the state's 12 universities, enrollment was up at five since last year. Chicago State grew the most, up over 10% since last fall. Western Illinois saw the sharpest decline, down about 17%.
The enrollment gains were driven by undergrad students. Every single public university saw a drop in graduate enrollment, and that’s because of international students.
International enrollment dropped 14% in Illinois, which the State Board of Higher Ed attributes to the Trump administration’s visa processing changes.
The state’s two largest public universities, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois Chicago, both had their highest enrollment ever this fall.
U of I Urbana-Champaign is by far the largest, enrolling over 60,000 students.
Meanwhile, enrollment at Illinois community colleges is down slightly from last year.
Over 270,000 students attend the state’s 45 community colleges.
Oakton College in suburban Des Plaines saw the biggest year-to-year increase, while Highland Community College in Freeport had the steepest decline, down 16% from last fall.
There were a few areas of growth though. Career and Technical Education — which includes work-based programs from healthcare to welding — is up around 6%. Enrollment in dual Credit, where high school students take college coursework, also increased this year.
College of DuPage is, by far, the state’s largest community college, enrolling over 28,000 students.
