Spring semester enrollment shows increase

It's official — there are more Salukis at school this semester.

Enrollment and registration numbers at SIUC indicate increased freshman retention and a higher total campus count than last spring semester.

As of Jan. 28, a total of 19,789 students are registered for classes both on- and off-campus, compared to 19,655 at this time last year.

On-campus numbers — including freshmen and transfer students — show increases, indicating that both freshman retention and recruitment is on the rise. There are 264 more on-campus freshmen — 2,425 this spring semester compared with 2,161 last year at this time. Of those freshmen, 94 are new students beginning their SIUC careers this semester. Transfer student numbers also show improvement, with a total of 968, compared to 887 last spring.

"The numbers show that we are headed in the right direction with our recruitment and retention initiatives," Chancellor Fernando M. Treviño said. "This is a very positive report and reflects tremendous efforts across the campus. It will be important to maintain our focus on enrollment so we can continue to build on this momentum."

Here's how the figures — current as of Jan. 28 — break down for the spring 2008 semester, compared with the spring 2007 semester:

Total students registered: 19,789 — up 134 from last spring

Total undergraduates registered: 15,134 — up 70 from last spring

On-campus total: 17,459 — up 174 from last spring

Off-campus total: 2,330 — down 40 from last spring

First-time students: 514 — up 56 from last spring

Transfer students: 968 — up 81 from last spring

Continuing students: 17,675 — up 3 from last spring

Undergraduates: 15,134 — up 70 from last spring

Graduates: 4,655 — up 64 from last spring

Victoria Valle, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management, was pleased with the numbers.

"A lot of people have worked very, very hard at this," she said. "The numbers are going in the right direction."

- Andrea Hahn