EIU Media Relations

EIU spring enrollment jumps 13 percent

Outstanding value, steady retention, early engagement keys to EIU’s strategic, incremental enrollment growth

(Charleston, IL) – After reporting a nine percent total increase in spring-to-spring enrollment in the two-year span from 2018 to 2020, Eastern Illinois University’s spring-to-spring enrollment has once again jumped from 2020 to 2021.

“Eastern Illinois University’s stellar reputation for student success, academic excellence, and fiscal stewardship has resulted in another semester of significant growth for EIU,” said Eastern Illinois University President Dr. David Glassman. “Students and their families continue to recognize the remarkable value we provide, as well as the safety and security of our residential campus and local community. I am extremely proud of our faculty, staff, and students, whose commitments to Eastern further enhance EIU’s position in Illinois and across the Midwest.”

According to official 10^th-day data from the university, the university’s spring 2021 enrollment sits at 8,630 students—1,009 more students and just over a 13 percent increase from the University’s final spring 2020 numbers. While continuing students increased by 2 percent, a new offering with EIU’s largest dual-credit partner contributed to the most significant growth in EIU’s spring-to-spring enrollment.

EIU’s early engagement enrollment strategy includes purposeful and proactive dual-credit partnerships with Illinois high schools. Josh Norman, EIU’s associate vice president for Enrollment Management, explained the partnerships allow college-bound students to earn college credit while still in high school, and are highly advantageous because they reduce student costs, accelerate degree completion rates, and prepare prospective students for a successful transition to EIU.

“EIU’s dual-credit programs were created for exactly that – to build strategic, efficient onramps for students who eventually plan to live and learn here on EIU’s Charleston, Illinois campus,” Norman said.

Norman also translated what this spring’s latest statistics mean for EIU’s enrollment strategies at a more general level.

“What the data tells us is that EIU is doing a phenomenal job recruiting and retaining students from semester to semester and from year to year, especially considering the unique circumstances our students are facing this year,” he said. “EIU’s focus is on early engagement and outcomes, and our spring 2021 numbers indicate clearly that we are fulfilling our mission of engaging students early and preparing them to be responsible citizens and leaders in a competitive, interconnected world.”

EIU’s spring increase adds to a significant multi-year upward trajectory, despite the unique and ongoing circumstances the pandemic has presented. Norman said EIU’s growing enrollment speaks to EIU’s quality, responsiveness, and resourcefulness in meeting the dynamic needs of its students, even in challenging times. For example, EIU quickly responded to emerging student needs in fall 2020 by launching new communications, creating additional feedback channels, and allocating additional funding to support student success initiatives across campus.

EIU’s official spring 2021 figures come from the university’s 10^th-day enrollment reports. Tenth-day enrollment reports are the nationally accepted standard for tracking university and college enrollments. Several of EIU’s standalone 10^th-day enrollment reports are individually processed and combined to create a comprehensive university enrollment report that, once complete in its entirety, will be available at https://www.eiu.edu/ir/tenth_day_enrollment.php.

For more information about EIU, and to learn more about its growing assortment of programs and services, visit the university’s website at www.eiu.edu, or call EIU’s public information office at (217) 581-7400.