NIU total fall enrollment dips, freshmen numbers decline while university touts increased diversity

DeKALB – Northern Illinois University’s incoming freshman class declined for the first time in six years, according to 10-day fall enrollment data released Thursday, although its student population is the most diverse it’s ever been, university officials touted.

Data shows fall enrollment recorded 2,202 freshmen at the 10-day count for 2023, compared with 2,440 in 2022, a decline of 238 students. As recent as 2022, university leaders had pointed to a six-year trend of increased freshman enrollment.

Overall, the number of undergraduate students is 11,358, data shows, compared with 11,429 in 2022. Total student enrollment came to 15,504, compared with 15,649 in 2022, data shows.

On Thursday, NIU officials highlighted efforts to recruit international students and also improve enrollment diversity. For the first time in NIU’s history, students who identify as Latino represent 25% of the total undergraduate population, according to NIU.

Black or African American students make up the highest percentage of students in the incoming freshman class, and fall enrollment for international students surpassed 1,000 for the first time since 2016, according to the university.

“This fall, we’re seeing very positive data as new transfer student enrollment increased, continuing undergraduates are reenrolling at significantly higher rates, and more students want to live on campus,” NIU President Lisa Freeman said in a news release. “Most importantly, we’ve worked diligently to remove barriers to a high-quality education and are attracting talented students, including many from populations that are often underserved or overlooked.”

New transfers to NIU grew to 1,325 this fall versus 1,252 in 2022.

Overall enrollment has been trending down at NIU for years since well before the COVID-19 pandemic. The decline isn’t unique to NIU, however, as enrollment at four-year colleges has declined steadily over the past decade, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

In 2009, NIU recorded 24,424 students enrolled, according to 10-day enrollment data. In 2018, that number was 17,168, and in 2019 it was 16,609. A 2020 increase was noted at 16,769 total students, dipping again however in 2021 at 16,234 and again in 2022.

In response, university leaders have unveiled a number of initiatives aimed at student recruitment and retention, including a strategic enrollment management plan released in spring 2022, which officials said prioritizes on-campus experiences.

NIU also has a test-free admission process and awarded more than $7.2 million in merit scholarships to new freshmen who arrive with a 3.0 GPA or higher.

This fall, we’re seeing very positive data as new transfer student enrollment increased, continuing undergraduates are reenrolling at significantly higher rates, and more students want to live on campus. Most importantly, we’ve worked diligently to remove barriers to a high-quality education and are attracting talented students, including many from populations that are often underserved or overlooked.”

—  NIU President Lisa Freeman

The new freshman class came to campus with an average high school GPA of 3.42, enrollment data shows. Almost 20% of incoming freshmen had 4.0 high school GPAs, while 36% of new freshmen had high school GPAs of 3.7 or higher, according to NIU.

In 2023, the Honors Program added 282 new freshmen, and it now has a total enrollment of 1,073 honors students, an increase of 14% over last fall.

According to enrollment data that counts students after 10 days of classes in the fall semester, the largest demographic of the new Class of 2027 freshman class identify as Black or African American, at 35%. Incoming freshmen also are 29% white, 29% Hispanic or Latino and 5% Asian, data shows.

NIU’s graduate student pool also has remained largely flat, with 3,832 graduate students enrolled this semester compared with 3,908 in 2022, according to the data. Of that 2023 group, 50% are white, 24% are international students, 11% are Hispanic or Latino and 5% are Asian.

“NIU redoubled its retention efforts and saw reenrollment rates increase substantially this fall, near pre-pandemic levels,” Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Laurie Elish-Piper said in the release. “Our successes included substantial increases in the rate of reenrollment among new freshmen from 2022 and extended to underserved groups such as first-generation college students, where retention can be more challenging for universities nationwide.

“As a campus, we’ve really embraced retention as a shared responsibility, and we’re seeing the benefits. We’re going to continue growing our retention efforts by being even more collaborative, intentional and data-informed.”

NIU also has the most students living on campus in DeKalb since 2015, according to the data. As of Thursday, more than 4,100 students are living on campus.

“We’re seeing a lot of positive trends this fall that speak to the academic quality and success of our students,” Sol Jensen, NIU vice president for enrollment management, marketing and communications, said in the release. “Our latest strategic enrollment management planning efforts were essential, helping us to be resilient and successful in times of rapid change.”