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Wall St. Journal paints grim picture of WIU, Macomb

Tuesday, May 20, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller

* WSJ

In Macomb, about 140 miles west of Urbana-Champaign, the city’s population fell 23% to an estimated 14,765 from 2010 to 2024. The enrollment at Western Illinois University’s Macomb campus has fallen 47% since 2010, to 5,511 from 10,377. … Layoffs and attrition have shrunk campus employment by 38% in the past 11 years.

The full story is definitely worth a read

At Western Illinois University, an empty dorm that once held 800 students is now a police training ground, where active-shooter drills have left behind overturned furniture, rubber-tipped bullets and paintball casings.

Nearby dorms have been razed to weedy fields. Two more dorms are set to close this summer. Frat houses and homes once filled with student renters are empty lots. City streets used to be so crowded during the semester that cars moved at a crawl. No more.

* Grim

In Macomb, about 140 miles west of Urbana-Champaign, the city’s population fell 23% to an estimated 14,765 from 2010 to 2024. The enrollment at Western Illinois University’s Macomb campus has fallen 47% since 2010, to 5,511 from 10,377. … Layoffs and attrition have shrunk campus employment by 38% in the past 11 years.

* And it’s probably not going to get any better

Macomb is at the heart of a new Rust Belt: Across the U.S., colleges are faltering and so are the once booming towns around them. Enrollment is down at many of the nation’s public colleges and universities, widening the gap between high-profile campuses and struggling schools. Starting next year, there will be fewer high-school graduates for the foreseeable future. […]

College towns are now threatened by federal-funding cuts from the Trump administration, resulting in hiring freezes and layoffs at Ivy League and state schools alike. Administration efforts to cancel student visas might hurt state college budgets, since most international students pay higher, out-of-state tuition.

Even worse, the number of students graduating from American high schools is expected to start falling next spring, after reaching a record high this year. In 2007, the number of U.S. births peaked at 4.3 million and has been falling almost every year since.

Ugh.

* Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford is a WIU grad. And that WSJ story gives additional meaning to her opposition to the governor’s community college baccalaureate bill

Two Democratic leaders in the Illinois Senate openly expressed their disagreement this week about Gov. JB Pritzker’s proposal to allow community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degree programs in certain high-demand employment fields.

The exchange between Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, of Westchester, and Sen. Cristina Castro, of Elgin, who chairs the powerful Senate Executive Committee, took place during a hearing on an unrelated bill that would overhaul the way Illinois funds public universities. But it offered a public view of the reasons why the baccalaureate proposal, which Pritzker touted in his budget address in February, has so far failed to advance in the General Assembly. […]

During Wednesday’s hearing, Lightford appeared with a panel of university presidents from Chicago State, Western Illinois, Illinois State and Northern Illinois universities, and the Southern Illinois University System – all of whom support the funding proposal but oppose the community college baccalaureate plan.

“If we’re thinking about students’ basic needs, we also need to be thinking about the students that don’t necessarily go to the four-year schools,” Castro said to the panel. “If students are really the focus, why are you guys opposed to the (four)-year baccalaureate degrees?”

“I’d like to answer your question, madam chair, because I believe it has zero to do with what we’re trying to accomplish here,” Lightford replied.

She said the university funding proposal was the product of four years of negotiations that were intended to address a specific set of issues facing universities – namely, the adequacy and equity of their funding systems. The community college proposal, she argued, would draw students away from universities that are already struggling to maintain enrollment levels.

“Community college students need to stay at the two-year community college level, and then students who are going for a bachelor’s degree should stay at the university level,” Lightford said. “Because what happens is, when you begin to offer four-year programs at a two-year school, those students who would traditionally go to the four-year university, we’ll lose those students to the community college level.”

Discuss.

       

35 Comments »
  1. - TJ - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 9:04 am:

    The simple fact of the matter is that even if the Illinois Community College system was completely gutted and scrapped, schools like WIU would still be suffering from deep-seated issues with our current educational model and prohibitive costs associated with it. Expanding opportunities at community colleges doesn’t negatively impact schools like Western, it supports students that don’t have the opportunity to go to schools that they actually want to attend, like Illinois, or ISU, or SIU, or a liberal arts college. Let’s not equate Western not being viewed as an attractive or financially reasonable destination to most students, with or without community college programs being expanded, to those schools being preemptive victims to such proposals.


  2. - Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 9:10 am:

    What TJ said.

    This university is apparently disappearing semester by semester. Restricting growth of popular, which is another way of saying affordable, jucos ain’t saving WIU.

    Sometimes things just outlive their usefulness.


  3. - Jibba - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 9:11 am:

    The residential college experience is getting more difficult to afford, in both money and time, driving students to other markets or into job training instead. Making a degree quicker and cheaper would likely help capture this market, including non-residential education such as online coursework, night/weekend classes, block scheduling, and similar things that allow courses to be completed more quickly or while continuing to be employed at home. I would also argue that graduate education at some of the directionals might be unnecessary, which would decrease costs by way of reducing necessary faculty expertise, increasing teaching load, and administration costs. In essence, it would become more like a traditional liberal arts college. If at least one directional did this, it might prove to be a mechanism to save some of the lesser directionals that are suffering from population decline in their home areas. Another option is to close one or two directionals, but this is a drastic approach that is only helpful if an end user can be found for the campus. The community college approach would frankly be more useful, being closer to their service populations, but it is not an either/or question for me. Both.


  4. - Amurica - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 9:18 am:

    Regional universities will have to become specialized in the future. Focus on specific degrees and opportunities rather than being an all degree school.


  5. - Donnie Elgin - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 9:29 am:

    =The enrollment at Western Illinois University’s Macomb campus has fallen 47% since 2010=

    This is so sad. In my college days ( mid to late 1980s), we would road trip from ISU to EIU ( loved the panther lounge), WIU, and SIU (for Halloween), heck, SIU had way more kids than ISU back then. All three were vibrant and fun campuses to visit. Times sure have changed.


  6. - Really? - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 9:31 am:

    Working class families have been priced out of this dynamic for some time in addition to pushing students towards meaningless Liberal Arts degrees being on life support.

    The U of I and others of that ilk continue to sell their pretentious wildly over-priced ivory tower schtick to a certain portion of the population. Except for professional degrees that are required for certain vocations, these Universities are next.

    Leaders of the new/modern economy have long chastised the “elite” Universities for not producing the work force that is required. Many openly threatening to open their own institutions (Bill Gates and others) and place higher value on those degrees.

    The JUCO dynamic has little to do with the above. JUCO’s are entirely student focused. 4-years are heavily faculty focused. The 4-year model is at high risk as society is deciding the cost vs. benefit isn’t worth the outrageous price tag.


  7. - Notorious JMB - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 9:31 am:

    Not surprising. As the cost and size of equipment has grown, the number of people employed in agriculture has decreased. Those people move out of the area further reducing the population base and the money spent at local businesses and attending more regional schools like WIU.


  8. - Irreverent - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 9:31 am:

    === “Community college students need to stay at the two-year community college level, and then students who are going for a bachelor’s degree should stay at the university level,” Lightford said. “Because what happens is, when you begin to offer four-year programs at a two-year school, those students who would traditionally go to the four-year university, we’ll lose those students to the community college level.” ===

    “Look, this is the way we’ve always done it, and if we change it now, a few extra students might get a degree without taking on crippling debt.”


  9. - Irreverent - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 9:36 am:

    If anything, the hole in the wall with a 14k population should have a community college rather than making things worse for everyone so they can pretend they’re able to support a university.


  10. - Demoralized - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 9:48 am:

    ==those students who would traditionally go to the four-year university, we’ll lose those students to the community college level==

    And? This is supposed to be about the students and not about propping up 4 year institutions. You want to force a student to go somewhere else when it may be more convenient for them to go to a Community College closer to them. If the 4 year colleges can’t make it on their own then maybe they shouldn’t exist.


  11. - ChicagoBars - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 9:53 am:

    Did any Illinois college or university (other than Champaign’s overseas full boat tuition student recruitment work) do any planning at all for a demographic change that was really obvious a decade ago?


  12. - I-55 Fanatic - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 10:09 am:

    Notorious JMB is exactly right. This is a population problem. Declining enrollment among schools like WIU won’t be fixed by any higher ed policy changes. College affordability, junior college offerings, scholarships, pathways, etc etc etc are all pithy compared to the rural population’s steady and inevitable exodus toward more (sub)urban areas of the state and country. Soft landings for institutions like WIU should be the long-term goal.


  13. - City Zen - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 10:20 am:

    ==In my college days==

    You just don’t hear Chicagoland kids choosing the directional schools like you did a generation or two ago. Everyone around me is either UofI or out of state.

    Macomb part-time enrollment is actually up 30% in the past 5 years, mostly attrubted to those pursuing graduate degrees. Not sure how you build on that but it’s something.


  14. - Oldtimer - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 10:37 am:

    Before too long, IBHE and/or the Pritzker administration may have to seriously consider switching the current configuration of Macomb as the main WIU campus and Quad Cities as the WIU satellite.


  15. - Responsa - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 10:50 am:

    Macomb city population down by almost a quarter, WIU enrollment halved since 2011, yet construction of a 100 million performing arts center in a dying region kind of says it all with respect to head in the sand decision making. Sad.


  16. - 100 miles west - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 11:03 am:

    There is a report from the 1970s from IHBE that talks about the need to eventually close WIU because of future population loss in western Illinois. Have not seen the report it since grad school, but this has been on the radar for a long time.


  17. - OneMan - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 11:04 am:

    === time in addition to pushing students towards meaningless Liberal Arts degrees being on life support.===

    I have an IT job at a highly desirable employer in Chicago (going to grab my free lunch in a bit), about 20% of the systems folks I have worked with over the years have had undergraduate degrees in “meaningless Liberal Arts”. When I was interviewing as I was graduating with a CS degree from NIU in the early 90’s I was asked more about my communications minor than any CS class I took. A decent % of large employers back then would hire Liberal Arts majors for It jobs and train them. Heck, some firms (EDS, for example) wouldn’t talk to you if you were a new grad with a CS degree; they wanted art and music majors. Especially with the progress in AI in the programming space over the last few years, the ability to communicate in clear English will be more valuable than the ability to write Python code.

    The ability to work with, understand, motivate, and communicate with people is a valuable skill that will get you far in life, and if you can pick that up with an English degree, more power to you.

    One of the huge downsides of “I want students educated for what I need now and just that” is that when needs change, they just toss those folks. It’s one of the things they don’t talk about a ton in technology. If you know technology X and then technology Y comes along, most employers will not train you on Y; they just hire new folks who know Y.


  18. - The Farm Grad - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 11:25 am:

    Responsa, I noticed that as well. A university that has lost 66% of its enrollment since 1973 decides to build a 100M performing arts center.

    Recommendation? Outside of UURbana, massive mergers of academic institutions


  19. - NorthSideNoMore - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 11:26 am:

    Lots of Illinois students going out of state (and likely not returning). this also partially explains the teacher shortage. The regional/directional schools were established as teaching colleges sad to see them going down like this.


  20. - Here Here - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 11:30 am:

    The WIU campus may need to evolve toward the QCs, home of John Deere & a much larger population from which to draw from. Macomb has resisted the Quad Cities campus but demographic changes may make the QCs the future w Macomb as a satellite. We need some outside the box thinking asap.


  21. - Dupage - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 11:43 am:

    Maybe some of the unused buildings could be sold and re-purposed as data centers. The sale of the State of Illinois building is a good example of what could be done with obsolete buildings at WIU. Some of the buildings have large power feeds and large capacity internet links, things that data centers might be interested in. Even if they get a lower price then what they would like, it would be better then maintaining empty buildings with little hope of future use by the university.


  22. - Give Us Barabbas - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 11:54 am:

    One Man, bravo; I thought I would be the only one to comment on the short-sightedness of the remark about Liberal Arts degrees. Arguably, in uncertain times, such graduates do better than hyper-specialized one-note graduates, because they have learned how to learn, and can adapt and pick up new skills as they go. One of my kids with a “useless” Liberal Arts degree has so far had careers in five different fields, while friends of hers with computer science as their only field, are struggling now. There’s a glut of them chasing lesser-paying work and finding out that AI is hollowing-out their job market. Liberal Arts and Sciences make you adaptable and interesting, the best version of yourself.


  23. - Overbay - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 11:54 am:

    The community college bill has nothing to do with the issues at WIU. Come on people. Where is the leadership from the WIU Board? This decline has been going on for decades. Also where is the leadership from the Senate Majority Leader for her alma mater? She’s been in office how long? And in a position to be helpful to WIU.


  24. - From Forgottonia - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 12:11 pm:

    Western, Eastern, and Southern have all been hit hard. There is a crisis of students leaving for out of state colleges. Out migration will have lasting consequences for the state’s tax base. Strong regionals are fundamental for economic growth and retaining these students.

    Western has made strategic, significant and painful cuts to ensure stability but future growth will depend on a new funding formula and targeted investments by WIU to core, signature programs. State funding shouldn’t be increased unless there is a demonstration that the old way of doing things is over. WIU’s new leadership has demonstrated this in a big way. It is time for the state to step up.

    To the reporting from the WSJ, it is surface level. They highlight a coffee shop that is struggling. But this is because of the growth of competitors (new Starbucks and new local businesses with two locations opened since 2020). The private side of the community is flourishing with new businesses and expanded manufacturing.


  25. - From Fogottonia - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 12:14 pm:

    — City streets used to be so crowded during the semester that cars moved at a crawl.—

    I’ve lived in the region for decades. Anyone who has visited Macomb, could tell you in 5 minutes that this has never been the case.


  26. - cal skinner - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 12:34 pm:

    On the plus side, regional politicians did convince George Ryan to build a four-lane highway to Macomb.

    It has about the same traffic count as the street in front of my Lakewood (think suburb of Crystal Lake) home.


  27. - Next Level - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 12:39 pm:

    =It’s one of the things they don’t talk about a ton in technology. If you know technology X and then technology Y comes along, most employers will not train you on Y; they just hire new folks who know Y.=

    Source? I work in IT and have had four employers over the years, all of which taught me new technology and promoted from within. Let us know where you’re hearing this so we know to avoid these companies.


  28. - Merle Webb’s Jumpshot - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 12:41 pm:

    I wish someone at the IBHE would take a close look at the University of Wisconsin system. They seem to support a main campus at Madison and also a successful group of regional schools, with the ones on the borders of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota poaching students from other states.


  29. - JS Mill - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 1:00 pm:

    Have you ever been to Macomb? It has little to offer and, compared to Bloomington/Normal? No real contest there.

    The anti-intellectualism movement has hurt college across the Board.


  30. - Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 1:23 pm:

    Illinois has had an outmigration problem since around 2000 when the state funds started to be cut. The universities responded by raising tuition which resulted in out of state universities becoming cheaper by comparison. That trend could be reversed by increasing state funding, lowering tuition, and advertising to prospective students (in Illinois and red states) that we are affordable and do not restrict what can be taught.


  31. - FollowTheMoney - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 1:26 pm:

    Just 20 years ago public universities got 2/3 of their money from the state and 1/3 from students. Today that ratio is flipped.
    Nobody seems to talk much about the third (and many times largest) revenue source community colleges have which is property taxes. Some community colleges get more taxpayer support than the regional public universities do. Elgin Community College gets 2/3 of its total revenues from local property taxes ($53M+ in property taxes alone which is more taxpayer support than CSU, EIU, GSU or NEIU receives). College of DuPage gets over $100 MILLION per year in state and local taxpayer support. That is more taxpayer support than every single regional public university in Illinois except the two systems (SIU and U of I).
    It may be cheaper for students but that’s only because taxpayers are more heavily subsidizing those institutions and their students - they just don’t realize it because the taxpayer support comes from two different levels of government.
    To add insult to injury, community colleges own their campuses and buildings so they are often newer and better maintained but the state owns the university campuses and buildings and deals with their upkeep like an MIA slumlord.
    Illinois has put its regional public universities in an impossible situation and then blames them for their own demise.


  32. - Friendly Bob Adams - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 1:47 pm:

    The enrollment declines at WIU (and EIU and SIU Carbondale) are important and need to be addressed seriously. There should be a big state effort to study this and plan for the future.

    But giving community colleges the ability to grant four-year degrees will not help.


  33. - Blake - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 1:49 pm:

    The primary base to draw from will soon shrink. Illinois has 180,503 births in 2006 and fell to 124,820 births in 2023.


  34. - DoingHumanThings - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 1:52 pm:

    Regarding the financial situation, a big part of the increasing tuition has been the decreasing of state funding. In 2002, WIU received the equivalent of $112.4 million from the state. That amount steadily decreased until just the last couple of years (and took a huge hit during Rauner’s State Budget Crisis).

    A few years after state funding started decreasing, enrollment started decreasing, which pretty much matched the decline the entire way down.

    Funding has now flattened out (so it’s no longer decreasing), but WIU received $64.3 million in actual dollars ($112.4 inflation-adjusted) in 2002 and $56.8 last year. The study behind the proposed new funding bill determined that WIU was the least adequately funded public university in the state at ~46% of what the university should be getting to serve the population that it has currently.

    If the state wants regional public universities to survive, then it needs to find a way to fund them better.


  35. - Amalia - Tuesday, May 20, 25 @ 2:10 pm:

    when do we have the hard but necessary discussion about Western and Eastern? That article in the WSJ convinces that Western should be changed. Maybe to a junior college?


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