Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is the fastest growing public institution in Illinois over the past 20 years. In statistics from the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE), SIUE has demonstrated a 26.8 percent growth in total enrollment from 1996-2016.
“SIUE’s consistent and steady growth over the past 20 years can be attributed to the ever-evolving nature of this campus and the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon area,” said Scott Belobrajdic, associate vice chancellor for enrollment management. “In the mid-1990s, we added residence halls and began the transition to a primarily residential campus. In the mid-2000s, we added the School of Pharmacy and more residence halls. Shortly thereafter, we moved to NCAA Division I athletics and expanded the School of Engineering.
“In more recent years, the opening of the new $80-million Science Building in 2012, offering instate tuition to Missouri residents, and an increasing commitment to merit and need based scholarships pushed SIUE to record enrollment in 2014. Most recently, the addition of hundreds of solely online and non-traditional students, and the development of a robust honors program have supported enrollment stability.”
Enrollment at Illinois Public Universities
5-Year Increments, from fall 1996-2016
1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 20-Year Change
SIUE 11,151 12,442 13,449 14,235 14,142 2,991 26.8%
UI Urbana 38,841 39,291 42,738 44,407 46,951 8,110 20.9%
UI Springfield 4,611 4,288 4,761 5,137 5,428 817 17.7%
UI Chicago 24,931 24,955 24,644 28,091 29,120 4,189 16.8%
Illinois State 19,722 21,240 20,521 21,310 21,039 1,317 6.7%
Northeastern 10,035 10,999 12,056 11,580 9,538 -497 -5.0%
Governors State 6,199 5,860 5,382 5,489 5,819 -380 -6.1%
Northern Illinois 21,609 23,783 25,313 22,990 19,015 -2,594 -12.0%
Western Illinois 12,184 13,206 13,602 12,554 10,373 -1,811 -14.9%
SIU Carbondale 21,863 21,598 21,003 19,817 15,987 -5,876 -26.9%
Eastern Illinois 11,711 10,531 12,349 11,178 7,415 -4,296 -36.7%
Chicago State 9,462 7,079 7,035 6,882 3,578 -5,884 -62.2%
Even with a slight dip in enrollment for fall 2017 to 13,796, SIUE’s enrollment growth from 1996 is 23.7 percent.
“During those 20 years, the size and quality of the freshman class have both grown,” Belobrajdic said. “In 1996, the mean ACT for the incoming class of 1,191 was 20.9. Fall 2014 brought a record 2,126 new freshmen to campus with an average ACT of 23.5.
“New transfer students have always been a part of SIUE’s regional mission and their numbers have grown from 1,175 in fall 1996 to more than 1,400 each of the past three fall semesters.”
SIUE has also expanded its geographic reach. Enrollment from the Chicago metropolitan area nearly tripled from 546 students in 1996 to 1,467 for fall 2016. A larger number of Missouri students decided to make the trip to SIUE’s 2,600-acre campus as 1,397 Missouri natives are currently enrolled compared to 959 in 1996.