For the first time in four years, enrollment at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville increased this semester.
A total of 12,813 students are enrolled at SIUE, which accounts for a 7.7% increase since last fall, according to university figures released on Wednesday.
“The numbers tell us that the value proposition of a high quality, affordable college degree still has meaning for students,” said SIUE Chancellor James Minor in a statement. “We now have the extraordinary opportunity to serve them.”
The reversal in enrollment at the Metro East campus means SIUE has bucked a national trend, where institutions of higher education have reported shrinking enrollment figures since the early 2010s.
SIUE’s total enrollment peaked in 2016 at 14,265. In all but 2021, enrollment had steadily dropped each fall, reaching a low last year at 11,893.
The year-to-year increase in enrollment has been partially driven by a retention of first- to second-year students. Over the past three years, that figure has increased from 75% to 80%.
Early college student enrollment — what the university calls high school students taking dual enrollment and dual credit courses — jumped from 129 students last fall semester to 607 students this fall.
SIUE administrators did see a decrease among international students, with the retention rate dropping 17%, likely because of heightened uncertainty surrounding student visas during President Trump's second term.
Academic programs in the nursing, engineering and business schools saw the largest growth this semester, according to the university.
The number of students living on campus — more than 3,000 — also reached its highest level since 2017.
“Today, SIUE is the number one producer of bachelor's degrees in St. Louis and in the Metro East,” Minor said. “We are powering the workforce of today and these numbers suggest that we will continue to define the workforce in the years to come.”
