NIU defies national trend: Freshmen enrollment up 11%

DeKALB – Northern Illinois University’s 2022 fall freshmen enrollment was up 10.7% over 2021′s numbers, defying a national trend that saw a decrease of 2.4% in freshmen enrollment at all public universities.

According to the Illinois Board of Higher Education, NIU had 2,377 new freshmen in the 2022 fall semester, which is 230 more students than 2021′s total of 2,147 new freshmen.

Sol Jensen, NIU vice president for enrollment management, marketing and communication, said the university has had strong freshman classes for over half a decade because of an admissions policy created through the lens of a plan designed help manage the university’s enrollment.

“NIU has enjoyed growth in its incoming freshman class for six straight years, thanks largely to a series of innovative new admissions policies devised as part of our Strategic Enrollment Management Plan. Those policies have helped us overcome the challenges facing universities nationwide as the number of traditional college-aged students continues to decline,” Jensen said in a statement provided by Joe King, a public information associate at NIU.

Overall, Illinois public university freshmen enrollment increased by an average of 5%. Nine out of the 12 public universities in the state reported an increase in freshmen enrollment in the fall of 2022. African- American and Latino freshmen increased at all universities by 10.5% and 12.9%, respectively.

“Here in Illinois, our universities are bouncing back— bucking national trends and exemplifying excellence at every turn,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a news release from the state of Illinois. “While other states battle dwindling enrollment numbers, our public universities are seeing extraordinary growth— largely driven by Black and Latino incoming freshmen. This just goes to show that when you invest in the young people of our state, the returns are exponential.”

Jensen said NIU’s Strategic Enrollment Management Plan meshes with efforts by Pritzker to improve Illinois’ education system.

“That plan reflects the governor’s commitment to making a high-quality college education an attainable goal for all qualified students, including those who are financially disadvantaged or who come from historically underserved populations.” Jensen said. “As a result, we are building a student body that better reflects the rich diversity of the region we serve and ensuring that NIU continues to fulfill its mission of preparing the next generation of leaders for Illinois.”

Despite six straight years of larger freshmen classes, NIU – and the rest of Illinois’ public universities – will deal with an enrollment cliff in the later half of this decade. Student enrollment at four-year institutions in the United States is estimated to peak at 3,879,004 in 2025, but by 2029 enrollment is expected to decrease by 6.66% to 3,303,972, the release stated.