Southern Illinois University Carbondale has stopped their downward trend in enrollment by bringing in their largest freshman class in five years. This fall, 1,422 Salukis are starting their college career, bringing an increase of 4.5% from previous years.

“Our faculty, staff, students and alums have gone above and beyond to change the downward trajectory of the declines we have experienced since 2016,” said SIU Carbondale Chancellor Austin Lane. “I want to personally thank each of them for rallying around enrollment and working tirelessly to show the unique opportunities future Salukis have. Today’s news is the result of all that effort.”

From 2020 to 2021, Eastern Illinois University saw a 13 percent increase in its spring enrollment. This enrollment increase is even larger than the 2018 to 2020 increase of nine percent.

In 2020, enrollment in Illinois’ public universities have seen an increase of 417 new students. That is a 0.2% increase from 2019, while most states saw decreases. The chair of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, John Atkinson, complimented the resilience of Illinois’s institutions of higher education and their leadership.

It was predicted that University enrollment would drop a whopping 25% nationwide in the summer and fall. Illinois beat those odds and managed to increase its university enrollment.

Nov. 8 is National STEM Day! STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The I-STEM Education Initiative at the University of Illinois aims to foster accessible, effective STEM teaching and learning—from preschool through graduate education—at local, state and national levels. I-STEM strives to prepare a diverse STEM workforce to tackle pressing global challenges. This campus coalition wishes to foster STEM citizenship through communication and public engagement, foster ungraduated and graduate STEM education reform, and advocate for STEM education.

Two Illinois universities made it into the top 25 best universities in the world in 2021, according to U.S. News and World Report.

University of Chicago came in at No. 15, with Northwestern University in Evanston following close behind at No. 24. University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana placed at No. 60 and the school’s Chicago campus came in at No. 212.