How long can this go on?
Monday, Sep 22, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As we’ve discussed before, Western Illinois University enrollment has plummeted over the years. The school laid off several employees last year, 57 faculty and 32 staff were let go and the university “opted not to renew contracts for 35 non-tenure-track workers and staff,” according to Crain’s. It’s now working on a reorganization. From Tri States Public Radio last month…
TSPR asked [President Kristi Mindrup] if WIU can maintain an enrollment of around 5,000 with a freshman class of that size.
“With new strategies that we’ll have in place, looking at data, working with experts, we are looking at expanding and changing some of our markets and so attracting new students to Western Illinois University is one strategy,” Mindrup said.
She said the administration also has “a number of other strategies” designed to keep students at WIU once they come, and she said they will develop a new strategic plan in the coming year.
Mindrup said WIU can be a great university even with 5,000 students.
“We can leverage the idea of 5,000 students to ensure that students understand that they’re not just a number at Western Illinois University, that they’ll have personalized attention,” Mindrup said.
She said the administration has made adjustments that will allow WIU to be sustainable with a lower enrollment.
But what happens if enrollment falls below 5,000? It’s getting close.
* The spin after the new enrollment numbers were published last week…
From 6,332 total enrollment to 5,337 this fall, enrollment numbers from WIU show a decline over the years, though officials noted that enrollment is higher than its forecast weeks earlier of 5,100 students.
“By enrolling more students than our projected number, we can build upon our momentum and allow our student supports to reach further,” according to Vice President for Student Success Justin Schuch. Schuch also said 197 students enrolled at WIU were students who had left the university, but have since returned to finish their degrees.
At that pace, WIU will be below 5,000 next year.
Those 2024 layoffs may have further spooked prospective students and their parents. Freshman enrollment was down 26 percent this year compared to last. And it’s down almost 50 percent since fall of 2021.
Back in 2021, 17.7 percent percent of freshmen who were accepted decided to enroll. This year, that’s down to 8.8 percent.
* Back to Crain’s…
The continued drop in students has put strain on the school’s ability to balance its budget. Last year, WIU’s board of trustees approved a round of layoffs as it stared down a $22 million deficit, which it estimated would be reduced to $10 million following the cuts.
I’m a big proponent of the directional schools. Not everyone can move to a far-away university town.
But if WIU winds up with just a few thousand students, then maybe letting area community colleges offer four-year degrees might not be such a bad thing. And I kinda suspect that’s what was at the heart of Gov. Pritzker’s push last spring to allow the colleges to do just that.
- Ares - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 2:12 pm:
Would there be legislative appetite for allowing WIU and its neighboring community colleges to share facilities, if not outright merge?
- thechampaignlife - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 2:21 pm:
Maybe the U of I should take it over. Just adding that name could give it a significant enrollment boost.
- Ryan - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 2:32 pm:
EIU is almost there. They report 8,107 students this fall. But they’re being extremely misleading with that number. 2,574 of them are dual-enrollment students….high school students in Illinois taking 1 or 2 classes, taught by high school teachers. So, in reality, EIU has appx. 5,500 students.
EIU, WIU, and sadly, SIUC need to seriously rethink their existence. Perhaps it’s time for them to merge with local community colleges.
The way these schools are going is not sustainable. If they don’t do something EIU and WIU will be closed within 10 years, SIUC, shortly after.
- Grimlock - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 2:49 pm:
WIU isn’t doing itself any great favors in how they are responding to this crisis. Went ahead and built the performing arts center while bleeding money, students, and employees. They also continue to allow tenured faculty to teach classes with only 3 or 4 students enrolled in some programs.
- Pot calling kettle - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 2:59 pm:
One of the biggest barriers WIU faces is high tuition. The enrollment decline at the directional universities really took off in the early 00s when the state slashed higher ed funding and the universities had to increase tuition to make ends meet. It became less expensive to go to Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, or Missouri than to stay in state; and, it was not much farther to drive.
Now, the state has been trying to reverse that, but we are still at least a bit more expensive for incoming freshmen (although, that often reverses by jr-sr year because Illinois universities have to hold tuition flat for each student for four years). Also, the now set patterns are hard to break; an older sibling or friend went to Iowa State or UW Whitewater and others follow.
WIU’s cuts have clearly discouraged prospective students. Who wants to go to a university with limited course options and the risk that your program might be cut before you can graduate?
The Bachelors at a CC won’t address the problem because the options would be very limited in terms of programs and available courses.
If WIU is to be saved, and I think it should be, the state needs to invest in the university to lower tuition and broaden offerings (both good signals to prospective students). And then publicize all of the state universities and help prospective students find them (which is in the works with the development and launching of the direct admissions program for in-state students).
IBHE could further educate high school students and parents about how to estimate the four-year cost of leaving the state (out-of-state schools may be less expensive freshman year, but when they raise tuition each year staying in state may be the better financial choice). In addition, Iowa, Missouri, and other “red” states have started restricting what can be taught at universities and have removed many of their targeted student support services. That might be a red flag for students as well.
- Incandenza - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 2:59 pm:
== Not everyone can move to a far-away university town. ==
True, which is in my opinion why these regional schools are still important: a lot of students are commuting from a few counties away to school. People in the area can get a very good (and affordable) education and still manage to live at home in Schuyler or Adams counties.
The enrollment drop means that reorganization and refocus of mission is necessary, not outright closure. WIU expanded to meet the need of the GI bill and the influx of many baby-boomers. Enrollment has been dropping steadily ever since then.
The state could stem the bleeding by helping make the schools more affordable with even a tiny fraction of the current budget for UofI being shifted to these regional schools.
- Chicagonk - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:06 pm:
Well at least they will have a new $100M performing arts building.
- JS Mill - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:13 pm:
Macomb and Charleston (both of which I have visited many times over the last decade) are struggling. I am sure the schools are having a major impact on that. But they are not helping their own cause.
- City Zen - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:15 pm:
WIU Quad Cities enrolled just 15 full-time freshmen this year and their total enrollment is less than half what it was in 2019.
https://www.wiu.edu/irp/enrollment_data.php
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:20 pm:
===WIU Quad Cities===
Yeah. Lots of money spent to, for a goodly portion, save Mike Jacobs’ behind.
Didn’t work.
- Grüezi - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:22 pm:
WIU might just be seeing the earliest effects of the fertility rate falling off a cliff, fewer and fewer freshmen-aged students every year.
- Oldtimer - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:23 pm:
Declining state public K-12 enrollment of 150k over the last ten years does not bode well for universities struggling simply to maintain their current reduced level of enrollment.
- DuPage Saint - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:24 pm:
I don’t know why the state doesn’t have a university system like some other states. One University with branches. Make all he directional schools part of U of I Isn’t that what Wisconsin and California do?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:30 pm:
===Make all he directional schools part of U of I===
The alumni association is very powerful here. They ain’t gonna want that.
- Oldtimer - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:37 pm:
Looking at public university enrollment, only 4 of the 12 schools aren’t struggling: the U of I-Champaign, U of I-Chicago, Illinois State, and SIU-Edwardsville.
- Juice - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:44 pm:
I’m not sure its just the Alumni associations considering the various fights have occurred between the Carbondale and Edwardsville campuses within SIU over the years.
- Leap Day William - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:45 pm:
== I don’t know why the state doesn’t have a university system like some other states. One University with branches. Make all he directional schools part of U of I Isn’t that what Wisconsin and California do? ==
Kinda. California has two systems, the UC system which is more academic/research focus and the CSU system which is more applied. A more apt comparison would be to bring the directionals along with UIS and GSU into one system, then put UIUC/UIC/ISU and maybe SIUC into another system. Wisconsin has one system for all of higher ed, including the community colleges as part of the University of Wisconsin System. System-level organization doesn’t necessarily bring about real cost savings, though, either as replication of personnel and programs between the institutions still exist even in the UC/CSU and UW systems.
The UI Alumni Association is very powerful, indeed, and doesn’t want to share. There have been calls from UIUC students/alumni to have different diplomas for UIC and UIS to make sure one would never confuse those with a UIUC diploma (despite the diplomas saying which campus they were granted from).
- old guy - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:49 pm:
The population in Western Illinois region is declining at an equal rate.
- Mr. Middleground - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 3:54 pm:
The challenges facing WIU are emblematic of a broader crisis in regional public higher education. If the state is serious about reversing population decline, it must invest directly in the operational health of institutions like WIU. These universities are not peripheral—they are essential infrastructure.
The state should also expand and convert its MAP grants into a more strategic tool for population growth. Instead of simply subsidizing tuition, MAP grants could be restructured and significantly expanded into forgivable loans—contingent on graduates living and working in Illinois for a set number of years (forgiveness earned each year). This would allow the state to recoup its investment not through repayment, but through economic contribution. In the event that students leave (and many do), the state can recover its investment.
- Juvenal - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 4:02 pm:
== Not everyone can move to a far-away university town. ==
Demographics is important. Every single county in Western Illinois - every county west of the Illinois River - has lost population since 2010.
The regional model cannot work for WIU, because its population is shrinking.
My suggestion is that Western Illinois University recruit heavily from CPS, promoting its geographic isolation as a strength.
In Macomb, kids can hit the books in a community free of gang violence, yaddayaddayadda.
At the same time, Amtrak connects Macomb to Chicago, so kids can get back to see family.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 4:07 pm:
===My suggestion is that Western Illinois University recruit heavily from CPS, promoting its geographic isolation as a strength. ===
They tried that already.
- ArchPundit - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 4:10 pm:
—I don’t know why the state doesn’t have a university system like some other states.
It’s a bad idea. Creating some sort of system is debatable, but the differences between institutions that specialize in teaching and one that focuses on research and teaching make it a poor fit. The administrative needs are very, very different. Could you build one with the 4 years outside of the U of I system? Yes, but it doesn’t solve as many issues as you might expect. You could probably create more shared services though.
- Cool Papa Bell - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 4:14 pm:
Proud WIU grad here. I won’t bother bringing up Macomb to my senior aged son. I am honestly shocked when I hear his friends even consider WIU, EIU or SIU.
Something really big and bold and probably expensive needs to be thought of and done to save our directional schools. I could see where you could have JUCO teachers at Spoon River teach classes out of the WIU Campus. That might put more people in those buildings, perhaps a good thing.
An expensive thing would be to offer “free” tuition to those schools - perhaps up to 3500 students a year or something. Make it competitive and not just a handout, SUNY offers “free” college.
The enrollment cliff is already here, its just as fewer kids are going to school, those shrinking numbers are working to be more choosey as to where they go. WIU and others just aren’t competitive right now in landing kids out of a smaller pool of students. Those kids all want to be in the bigger, busier pool at places like ISU, U of I or state schools in the south.
I’d be curious to see what enrollments are in places like Northern Iowa, or Truman State or the many UW-campuses. Are those smaller directional schools suffering as the larger schools in those states pull in more and more of remaining students?
I really hope they survive. Thriving college towns are a good thing for our state.
- Mr. Middleground - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 4:18 pm:
The new higher education funding formula would also make a big difference.
It holds harmless existing support for all institutions but gives new dollars to areas of the biggest need. In FY2023, the University of Illinois received a $33 million increase in state funding—roughly half of Western Illinois University’s entire appropriation. Moreover, the increase from FY21 to FY24 for U of I, exceeds the the annual appropriation for WIU.
A fraction of those dollars would make a course altering impact for the regionals.
- Mason County - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 4:39 pm:
Over the recent years many faculty and staff positions have been terminated.
Can find no evidence that of any administrative or athletic personnel being laid off at WIU.
WIU also, as of 2024 used some $1.7 million of state appropriated dollars to fund athletics.
Not hopeful signs that the administration is addressing some serious issues.
- Dupage - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 4:40 pm:
A good place to start is to restore the Blagojevich cuts that were used to “balance” the state budget. The universities had very large tuition increases and drastically reduced class offerings as a result.
One item that should be restored is state-paid employee health insurance for the university employees.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 4:41 pm:
Dupage, while not a bad idea, have you looked around at what’s happening these days?
- ArchPundit - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 4:42 pm:
===Northern Iowa, or Truman State
We’ll see the newest numbers in the next few weeks as the enrollment numbers are just coming in. Minnesota’s non UM numbers are up 7 percent fairly even between the community/tech colleges and the 4 years. Truman is having some issues in not having updated campus much. UNI is steady at a high overall enrollment for them (meaning over time this is a high point).
The state needs to right size some of the campuses which is a painful process, but it’s hard to see WIU with the same footprint making sense. It might just need a full rebrand.
- Amalia - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 4:48 pm:
what is the enrollment of foreign students at Western? the number of those students at UIUC really helps their bottom line. the entire state higher education model needs to be looked at for a what if there were not the number of foreign students…see all happening at the national level. If the entire system is not considered as a whole and a way figured out to divide who teaches what best, more than just Western and Eastern could be in trouble. and the alum groups may have to live without their sports teams.
- Dtown Resident - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 4:52 pm:
When is the last time that dorms were built at some of these regional universities. Many universities have redone their dorms to apartment style with larger rooms. I have seen where siuc is wanting to do a major dorm upgrade but both the costs and lack of updates at facilitate hurt them. If you have to pay more why go to a less updated university with fewer modernized facilities. The cuts in the early 200s and the games Rauner and Blago played with funding hurt the investments in thoae schools.
- Edwardsville Guy - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 5:41 pm:
A poor enrollment year unfortunately results in low enrollment counts for the following three years of that particular class - IF the university can retain the students from year 1 to year 2.
It will be difficult to overcome the enrollment decreases - they may be in a death spiral already. The outside consultants may say that spending more money may be “putting lipstick on the corpse.”
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 6:33 pm:
WIU has done a bad job of advertising and giving locals reasons to enroll there.
Spent way too much on administrative and athletics too.
- Rich Miller - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 8:04 pm:
===WIU has done a bad job of advertising===
I think their ads are pretty good.
- Merle Webb’s Jump Shot - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 8:21 pm:
I think the athletics would be a good place to start. While not saving a lot of money, a move to D3 could inject more local students to stay in the area and be involved in athletics. Most if not all D3 schools in Illinois are private and most have a much higher price tag than WIU. It could also entice some suburban or out of state athletes. A lot of the private schools bring in 75 football players each year and more than a few stay at that school for the duration.
- Enemy of the State - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 9:14 pm:
Ever since the Blago/Rauner years, I suspect the best and brightest WIU faculty members have left WIU. Hard to attract great students with average profs.
- Mason County - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 10:01 pm:
= Merle Webb’s Jump Shot - Monday, Sep 22, 25 @ 8:21 pm:
I think the athletics would be a good place to start. While not saving a lot of money, a move to D3 could inject more local students to stay in the area and be involved in athletics. Most if not all D3 schools in Illinois are private and most have a much higher price tag than WIU. It could also entice some suburban or out of state athletes. A lot of the private schools bring in 75 football players each year and more than a few stay at that school for the duration.=
YES.
- Yooper in Diaspora - Tuesday, Sep 23, 25 @ 7:42 am:
There remain committed faculty at WIU. A note though on the idea that Governor Pritzker may be turning to 4-year degrees at community colleges because of the shrinking of some of the regional universities. If that were the case, re-investing in existing public universities would make more sense. But Pritzker has been quote a while back here on Capitol Fax as saying that there are unmet workforce needs, and this is why he wants to expand what community colleges offer. The emerging IBHE reports on workforce development speak to this as well. Many I know at both community colleges and universities think partnerships between community colleges and 4-years make more sense. But there seems to be a hope to spark more local people to pursue degrees in nursing and other high-need areas without having to travel or relocate at all (hence, do everything at your area CC). One other challenge, though, is that earning that degree can make one more mobile. For example, once a nurse earns a 4 year degree, they qualify for a higher salaried job that the rural hospitals cannot always pay. Another challenge is that someone will have to pay for the investment in infrastructure and faculty–replicating what already exists at the 4-years.
- Liz - Tuesday, Sep 23, 25 @ 12:24 pm:
There are huge governance issues with the Illinois public university system — or, rather, the fact that it isn’t a system at all. UIUC is growing every year, bursting at the seams, building new instructional buildings, causing students to struggle to find a place to live, etc. For this to occur while WIU, EIU, etc. facilities sit empty or are demolished is a terrible waste the state can ill-afford and somehow the state has to step in.