Eastern’s 20-year enrollment decrease is part of statewide trend – The Daily Eastern News
Eastern’s enrollment has dropped 49.3% over the past 20 years, reflecting enrollment struggles at many Illinois universities. (Bryce Parker) Over the last two decades, Eastern has lost nearly half the number of students once enrolled as part of a statewide trend in public universities across Illinois. Since the 2004-05 school year, Eastern’s enrollment including off […]
Eastern’s enrollment has dropped 49.3% over the past 20 years, reflecting enrollment struggles at many Illinois universities. (Bryce Parker)
Over the last two decades, Eastern has lost nearly half the number of students once enrolled as part of a statewide trend in public universities across Illinois.
Since the 2004-05 school year, Eastern’s enrollment including off campus students has dropped from 11,651 to 5,910, a drop of around 49% over the last 20 years.
Eastern’s struggles to attract and retain students mirror similar enrollment declines at other directional schools in the state.
Over the last 20 years, enrollment is down 38% at Northern Illinois University, 45% at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and 53% at Western Illinois University.
Over the same period, enrollment at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville dropped by 12% while the number of students at Illinois State University increased slightly by around 4%.
There are, however, two state schools that have bucked this trend: the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois Chicago.
At UIUC, enrollment has exploded to a record high of 59,238, an increase of 46% over the last two decades, and at UIC, enrollment now tops 18,500 students, a 33% increase over the last 20 years.
One contributor to UIUC’s success is the level of funding it receives compared to other schools in the state. The adequacy funding for U of I, or the percentage of funds it has received to meet its educational needs, is 92%, according to a report by the Illinois Commission on Equitable Public University Funding.
That makes the state’s largest university also its best funded.
Last year, Eastern hit 61% of its target funding. Of the $178,159,100 budget this year, 53% was allocated from the state.
The funding disparities in the state create two classes of universities in Illinois: “the have and the have nots,” said John Blue, the inaugural executive director and senior diversity and inclusion officer at Eastern.
A bitter state budget standoff nearly a decade ago, the COVID-19 pandemic and a decline in enrollment prior to both of those events all have contributed to Eastern’s enrollment getting cut in half.
But Eastern hasn’t always been shrinking.
Jeffrey Stowell, professor of psychology and vice chair of faculty senate, has been teaching at Eastern since 2000 and remembers when his classes reached capacity consistently.
When Stowell first started working at Eastern, he said there were so many students in the psychology department that he and other professors discussed how to keep them from becoming psychology majors just to have enough space.
“We couldn’t handle them all,” Stowell said. “Our classrooms were full. I would have students asking to [join the classes], and I’m like, ‘I just simply can’t do it, because there’s no physical room in the classroom.’”
Now, Stowell said his psychology classes can hold 55 students, but only about 30 sign up.
The beginning of EIU’s enrollment decline
From 2006 to 2016, Eastern’s enrollment was already on a steady decline, losing nearly 5,000 students during the decade.
This became visible on campus when the university decided to close Carman Hall, the largest dorm complex on campus that was exclusively home to freshmen. Carman has two eight-floor towers that were closed in 2013 and now is used for fire department training.
According to a documentary on Carman Hall, Mark Hudson, the executive director of housing and dining services, said the building was shut down because it was “less than needed for demand.”
“We opted to close it down in order to fit the main people on the core of campus so we can focus on resources on renovations and things in that area in order to save operating money as well as future investment opportunities,” Hudson said in the documentary.
From July 1, 2015, to August 31, 2017, then Gov. Bruce Rauner (Rep.) had a budget standoff with the Democrat-controlled state legislature. As a result, Illinois did not have a complete budget, which impacted state funding in several areas, such as social service programs, state agency operations and higher education.
During this time, Eastern experienced a decrease of 3,181 students.
Brittany Tierney, Eastern’s director of admissions, said the drop in enrollment numbers in 2017 was directly connected to the budget crisis in the state.
“There was no state budget for a time frame that impacted universities,” Tierney said. “That impacted all state entities whenever there is no state budget.”
Jose Garcia, director of strategic communications at the Illinois Board of Higher Education, said enrollment at Eastern and other Illinois public universities has also been affected by COVID-19 pandemic. Eastern’s enrollment numbers from 2019 to 2023 were consistent, with 6,226 students in 2019 and 6,353 in 2023.
In the spring of 2023, university professors went on strike for six days. Tierney said Eastern was projected to have a good year with their enrollment numbers, but she said the EIU-UPI strike interrupted the projection.
“We lost a lot of students through that process,” Tierney said.
Eastern’s enrollment has dropped from 6,357 in 2023 to 5,910 last fall.
Jennifer Stringfellow disagrees with Tierney’s statement. Stringfellow was the president of EIU University Professionals of Illinois during the strike, the labor union that represents the 450 workers who went on strike.
“I don’t really buy that,” Stringfellow said. “I mean I’m not saying that there’s no impact, but I don’t believe that people aren’t coming here because they’re concerned that we might go on strike again, or that we went on strike and they didn’t like the strike.”
During 2024, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid experienced several delays and errors which interrupted the college enrollment for millions of families across the nation. Students who attend smaller state schools, such as Eastern, are more likely to seek out financial aid.
“We were down quite a bit in terms of students that had committed to come to Eastern, like 30% at one point,” Tierney said. “We ended up being down, in terms of first year incoming students, 4%.”
Trying to hit funding targets
Eastern is still trying to catch up from the funding it lost 10 years ago in the state budget fight, said Blue.
“That’s what led to the impasse, was the governor not budgeting, taking so much money out of the budget for state institutions,” Blue said. “It’s important that the state actually supports, financially supports the institutions.”
Each year, the Illinois Board of Higher Education calculates the cost for each state school to provide an equitable education based on each university’s needs and programs. That number is referred to as the education “adequacy target.”
The other 12 state schools averaged about 55% of the funding they need to reach their funding target.
Some universities rely more on state funding to reach their target than others. Smaller schools like Eastern are more reliant on the state than the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign because they don’t receive as much money from other sources.
Overall, the state estimates the funding target for all public universities at $4.47 billion, but those schools receive just $3 billion, according to the 2024 report. Medical schools were not included in state funding figures.
Relying solely on state funding would put EIU at just under 30% funded. Only relying on the state would alter the way students are taught, Blue said. To prevent this, Blue said he seeks out grants from sponsors and donors.
“It would affect the type of education we can offer, which in turn affects the type of graduates we can pump into the Illinois economy, which also affects the economy as a whole because if you don’t have people that are properly trained at a certain field, now you are lacking in that field,” Blue said. “It’s a whole trickle down effect.”
To improve enrollment numbers and funding, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is working to remove barriers and even out what schools receive from the state, said Garcia, the board of higher education spokesperson.
Government funding, including federal student aid, can play a major role in the way a university is run. It also can affect enrollment. Last year, Pritzker signed a $2.6 billion higher education budget, an increase of nearly $76 million from the previous fiscal year, or 3%.
For the 2025 fiscal year, Eastern has a total budget of $178,159,100 in total spending money for the current fiscal year which was a 3.1% increase from the previous fiscal year, of which nearly $8 million comes from the state.
Rebuilding enrollment at Eastern
One of the ways that Eastern is attempting to improve enrollment is by offering grants to its students.
Along with other state schools, Eastern can offer state AIM HIGH Grants, which covers an Illinois student’s entire tuition if they are eligible. If students receive it once and continue to maintain eligibility, they will receive a renewal grant, which covers the full cost of tuition and fees for students taking 15 credit hours.
Eastern also offers the EIU Promise grant to first time undergraduate students. The grant covers a student’s tuition and fees, if the gross household income is $80,000 or below annually and if other requirements are met.
Leaders at Eastern have tried to increase enrollment by emphasizing how affordable it is. The average cost of tuition at Eastern is around $12,000.
Shortly after the start of the pandemic, Eastern removed its application fee, and the university expects to keep it like that permanently, said Tierney.
Illinois is one of the country’s top exporters of high school students to go to college in others states, taking away potential enrollment from state schools, said Stowell.
Stowell said he thinks the university has shifted its focus on what it is and the types of programs that it can and should be offering, while being both nimble and flexible in the process.
“I think the budget impasse and the pandemic, some as well, I think it really had a refining effect on how we work as an institution and who wants to be here at the institution,” he said.
Eastern also is pushing to attract international students, contacting 50,000 high schools worldwide, said Andy Kabasele, Eastern’s assistant dean for international students and scholars.
“We have seen some years where numbers have gone really up, and then some years have gone down and that depends on administration,” Kabasele said.
In 2023, Kabasele said the international enrollment soared from 253 students to 880, which was a 350% increase. That success has taken a turn since President Donald Trump took office, and his administration began making it harder to get visas.
This semester, around 240 international students had their visas denied, the News previously reported. Last fall, 196 visas were denied, and recently, 11 students had their visas revoked. University leaders said the drop in international students is the main reason on-campus enrollment is down nearly 10% this semester.
International students pay the full tuition rate because they come from out of the country.
Eastern hired Kabasele to help assist international students and provide services to retain them. Kabasele said he works with the Department of Homeland Security to make sure that the appropriate services are being provided as well as making sure students are in compliance with their visas. The country with the highest number of international students attending Eastern is India.
Kabasele said they receive around 8,000 applications, but a lot of them are not accepted because of visa holdups. Even before Trump took office, Kabasele said students told him that getting appointments regarding their visas had been challenging, because the office was backlogged from the pandemic.
Cam’ron Hardy can be reached at 581-2812 or at cahardy@eiu.edu.
A large thunderstorm that moved along the foothills Monday evening over Lindsay, then Strathmore and finally Porterville gave the Orange Belt the most rainfall out of Monday’s storm. Amounts vary with some areas west of town easily receiving more than a quarter of an inch from the downpour that began about 5:30 moving south until […]
A large thunderstorm that moved along the foothills Monday evening over Lindsay, then Strathmore and finally Porterville gave the Orange Belt the most rainfall out of Monday’s storm.
Amounts vary with some areas west of town easily receiving more than a quarter of an inch from the downpour that began about 5:30 moving south until it struck Porterville about 6:10 p.m.
Fields west of Road 224 in some areas were flooded as the torrential rainfall lasted for more than 15 minutes. However, other areas received less than a tenth of an inch.
Brent Gill who lives above River Island, reported he measured 0.38 of an inch of rain, 0.24 of that after dark.
Greg Chadwell, a local weather observer, measured just .04 for the entire day at his site on North Grand Avenue. The National Weather Service in Hanford said just 0.07 of an inch was measured at the Porterville Airport.
The massive thunderstorm also brought lightning and thunder and the threat of lightning postponed the water polo match at Monache High School. Numerous power pole problems were reported throughout the county from the first real winter storm of the season.
At Ponderosa Lodge above Porterville, about 10 inches of snow fell with about 6 inches still on the ground Tuesday.
Weather Service meteorologist Dan Harty said we have definitely gone from summer and fall to fall and winter.
“This is that time of year we transition into a wet pattern,” he said, adding the next chance of rain is at least a week away. This weekend is expected to be sunny with a high of about 70 in Porterville.
The rain delayed harvesting in some areas, but mostly just washed the dust out of the area. The rain and colder temperatures were definitely welcomed by citrus growers who are just beginning the navel orange harvest. The rain adds size and the cooler weather adds color to the fruit.
The rain is also beneficial to olives, but does hurt alfalfa and cotton growers, although much of the cotton has been picked and rainfall in most areas was too little to do any damage to the cotton. Harty said most areas got less than a tenth of an inch of rain, most less than five-hundredths of an inch.
Rainfall was heavier in the foothills and mountains, although it did not change the meager inflow into Success Lake that still has less than 5,000 acre feet of water in storage.
However, the storm did allow the Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument to end to fire restrictions.
Campfires and charcoal barbecues are now allowed anywhere unless posted. Also allowed are stoves and lanterns with shut-off valves that use gas, jellied petroleum or pressurized liquid fuel. In all cases, the visitor must possess a valid California Campfire Permit.
Rainfall for the weather year — July 1 through June 30 — now stands at just .08 in Porterville, said Chadwell. Average rainfall in Porterville by the end of October is 1.03 inches.
“Last significant rain was in March,” said Chadwell. “We’re due now.”
Brynn Emeyabbi (7) serves the ball during the Lady Trojans’ Bi-District Playoff game against Fruitvale last season. The Cumby Lady Trojans have released their 2025 volleyball schedule, consisting of nine home games, seven road games and three tournaments. Staff Photo by DJ Spencer Brynn Emeyabbi (7) serves the ball during the Lady Trojans’ Bi-District Playoff […]
Brynn Emeyabbi (7) serves the ball during the Lady Trojans’ Bi-District Playoff game against Fruitvale last season. The Cumby Lady Trojans have released their 2025 volleyball schedule, consisting of nine home games, seven road games and three tournaments. Staff Photo by DJ Spencer
Brynn Emeyabbi (7) serves the ball during the Lady Trojans’ Bi-District Playoff game against Fruitvale last season. The Cumby Lady Trojans have released their 2025 volleyball schedule, consisting of nine home games, seven road games and three tournaments. Staff Photo by DJ Spencer
Lady Trojans reveal 2025 volleyball schedule
Lady Trojans reveal 2025 volleyball schedule
CUMBY — The Cumby Lady Trojans have released their volleyball schedule for the 2025 season. This will be their second season under Head Coach Savannah Kurn and the Lady Trojans will be looking for their second consecutive playoff appearance.Last season, the Lady Trojans went just 11-23 in the regular season, but posted a respectable 9-3 district record, placing second in District 11-2A…
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Women’s Water Polo World Championships: Greece Tips Australia, U.S. Eases into Semis Greece pulled out a close game against Australia, and the U.S. routed Japan in the quarterfinals of the women’s water polo World Championships in Singapore on Saturday. The four semifinalists are the same as at the 2024 women’s water polo World Championships in […]
Women’s Water Polo World Championships: Greece Tips Australia, U.S. Eases into Semis
Greece pulled out a close game against Australia, and the U.S. routed Japan in the quarterfinals of the women’s water polo World Championships in Singapore on Saturday.
The four semifinalists are the same as at the 2024 women’s water polo World Championships in Doha, with Hungary and Spain also advancing in tight games over European opposition. Spain, the reigning Olympic champion, and the reigning World Champion Americans are on opposite sides of the draw.
The U.S. had no trouble with Japan in 26-8 decision. The Americans scored 11 times in the first quarter on 12 shots. The Americans shot 76 percent (26-for-34) for the game.
Ryann Neushul scored twice in the first quarter. She shot 3-for-3 for the game and added three assists. Emily Ausmus shot 4-for-4. Anna Pearson led the attack with five goals, and Jenna Flynn added four. Amanda Longan (eight saves) and Isabel Williams (six saves) kept Japan’s attack at bay.
The U.S. is chasing its ninth world title.
“There’s always a little pressure just representing Team USA, but this is a different group than before and we’re really excited,” Pearson said. “We want to create our own story but obviously, it’s amazing following the past world championships. In the semifinals, we just have to stick to our game plan, execute what we talked about before and make it happen in the pool.”
The day started with a dramatic 8-7 win over Greece over Australia. Danijela Jackovich tied the game for Australia with 47 seconds left in regulation. But Maria Myriokefalitaki scored on a fast break with two seconds remaining to send the Greeks through.
Myriokefalitaki dedicated the goal to her late aunt.
“I was so emotional,” she said. “This goal, I think somebody from heaven helped to make it go in. This is where I want to dedicate this goal. Before the world championships, I lost a very special person for me. That’s why I got so emotional after that goal.
“It was my aunt, and I was really sad. But this is how life works. We have to keep pushing and continue. I dedicate this goal to her. It was a little bit of help from heaven.”
Eleftheria Plevritou set up the goal and added two of her own. Stefania Stampa also scored twice. Ioanna Stamatopoulou stopped six shots. Greece came up with seven blocks and seven steals.
Charlize Andrews and Abby Andrews scored twice each for Australia. Gabriella Palm made 12 saves.
Hungary steadily pulled away from Italy for a 12-9 win. Rita Keszthelyi scored two of her four goals in the third quarter. She added two assists.
“We were just in the flow today,” Keszthelyi said. “We were not thinking about the result or what’s happening in the water. We were just doing our thing and concentrating on our defense. If it was a goal, then OK. If not, no problem, we just keep going. In crucial moments, we could find players that could help us go over the line when we were stuck, so I’m very proud of each one of us. We have a lot of young players who are in their first world championships and this is their first world quarterfinal. We learnt a lot from this and I hope we can still improve and show that we earned our spot in the top four.”
Dora Leimeter and Krisztina Garda contributed two goals and two assists each. Boglarka Neszmely came up with nine saves.
Chiara Ranalli scored four goals, and Sofia Giustini added three for Italy. Aurora Condorelli stopped 10 shots. Hungary limited Roberta Bianconi, Dafne Bettini and Agnese Cocchiere to a combined 2-for-16 shooting.
Spain outlasted the Dutch, 15-13, in a shootout. It’s a repeat of the Olympics, where Spain beat the Dutch, 19-18, in a shootout in the semifinals on the way to gold.
Two unanswered goals by the Netherlands’ Lieke Rogge, the last with 45 seconds left, helped the Dutch rally to reach the shootout. Rogge then made her first attempt in the shootout, but Bente Rogge’s attempt in the second round missed to give Spain the early advantage. Martina Terre consolidated the lead by denying Maartje Keuning in the fourth round. That allowed Ariadna Ruiz to win it in the next round.
Ruiz scored three goals, as did Paula Crespi.Bea Ortiz led the attack with four goals, albeit on 4-for-10 shooting. Terre stopped seven shots in goal.
Lieke Rogge kept the Dutch alive with seven goals on 11 shots. Kitty-Lynn Joustra shot 3-for-3 on the field. Spain’s defense limited Simone van de Kraats and Sabrina van der Sloot to a combined 1-for-9 shooting.
In Monday’s semifinals, Greece will take on the U.S. in the first semifinal. Hungary and Spain square off in the second semi. Quarterfinal losers head into the 5-8 placement.
Spring Sports All-Aurora 2025: Full Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Boys Volleyball Team
AURORA | The full 2025 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Boys Volleyball teams and honorable mention selections. Read about the first team selections, here: Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports 2025 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-AURORA BOYS VOLLEYBALL TEAM FIRST TEAM Setter: Devan Hall, jr., Grandview. Hitters/middles: Connor Deickman, soph., Grandview; Matthew Dye, […]
Women’s rugby — International Fixture: U.S. vs. Fiji, Washington, 11 a.m., CBS; NRL: Sydney at Brisbane, 8:40 p.m., FS2 Sailing — SailGP: Event 7 – Day 1, Portsmouth, England, 8 a.m., CBSSN Men’s soccer — USL Championship: Hartford at Rhode Island, 1 p.m., CBS Women’s soccer — UEFA Euro 2025 Championship: France vs. Germany, Quarterfinal, […]
Men’s soccer — USL Championship: Hartford at Rhode Island, 1 p.m., CBS
Women’s soccer — UEFA Euro 2025 Championship: France vs. Germany, Quarterfinal, Basel, Switzerland, noon, FOX; Conmebol Copa America Group Stage: Venezuela vs. Bolivia, Group B, Quito, Ecuador, FS2, 1:50 p.m.; Conmebol Copa America Group Stage: Colombia vs. Paraguay, Group B, Quito, Ecuador, 4:55 p.m., FS1
Auto racing — FIM MotoGP: The Czechia Grand Prix, Ostrovacice, Czechia, 4:30 a.m., FS2; NTT IndyCar Series: Warmup, Streets of Toronto, Toronto, 5:30 a.m., FS1; NTT IndyCar Series: The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, Streets of Toronto, Toronto, 9 a.m., FOX; NASCAR Cup Series: The Challenge Round 4 – AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400, Dover Motor Speedway, Dover, Del., 11 a.m., TNT/TRUTV; NHRA: Qualifying, Pacific Raceways, Kent, Wash. (Taped), 11:30 a.m., FS1; NHRA: The Muckleshoot Casino Resort NHRA Northwest Nationals, Pacific Raceways, Kent, Wash., 1:30 p.m., FOX
Basketball — The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 9:30 a.m., FS1; The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 11:30 a.m., FOX; The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 2 p.m., FS1; The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 4 p.m., FS1/FS2; The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 6 p.m., FS1/FS2; The Basketball Tournament: TBD, Round of 32, 8 p.m., FS2
Beach volleyball — AVP: Week 6 – Day 2, New York, 9 a.m., CBS; AVP: Week 6 – Day 2, New York, 11 a.m., CBSSN
BIG3 basketball — Week 6: LA Riot vs. Chicago Triplets, Dallas Power vs. Miami 305, DMV Trilogy vs. Detroit Amps, Houston Rig Hands vs. Boston Ball Hogs, Detroit, noon, CBS
Cycling — UCI: The Tour de France, Stage 15, Muret / Carcassonne, France, 3:30 a.m., PEACOCK; UCI: The Tour de France, Stage 15, Muret / Carcassonne, France (Taped), 11 a.m., NBC
Boy’s flag football — 2025 NFL Flag Championships: Semifinal, Canton, Ohio, 9 a.m., ESPN; 2025 NFL Flag Championships: TBD, Semifinal, Canton, Ohio, 10 a.m., ESPN; 2025 NFL Flag Championships: TBD, Championship, Canton, Ohio, 1 p.m., ABC
Girl’s flag football — 2025 NFL Flag Championships: Semifinal, Canton, Ohio, 11 a.m., ESPN; 2025 NFL Flag Championships: Semifinal, Canton, Ohio, noon, ESPN; 2025 NFL Flag Championships: TBD, Championship, Canton, Ohio, 2 p.m., ABC
Golf — DP World/PGA Tour: The Open Championship, Final Round, Royal Portrush Golf Club, Portrush, Ireland, 1 a.m., USA; DP World/PGA Tour: The Open Championship, Final Round, Royal Portrush Golf Club, Portrush, Ireland, 4 a.m., NBC; DP World/PGA Tour: The Barracuda Championship, Final Round, Tahoe Mountain Club, Truckee, Calif., 3 p.m., GOLF
Gymnastics — USAG: The U.S. Classic, Hoffman Estates, Ill. (Taped), 1 p.m., NBC
Horse racing — NYRA: Saratoga Live, 10 a.m., FS2
MLB — Detroit at Texas, 4 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2 (StatCast); Houston at Seattle, 1:10 p.m., ROOT
NBA — Summer League Tournament: TBD, Championship, Las Vegas, 7 p.m., ESPN
Women’s rugby — NRL: New Zealand at Newcastle, 1:10 a.m., FS2
Sailing — SailGP: Event 7 – Day 2, Portsmouth, England, 8 a.m., CBSSN; SailGP: Event 7 – Day 2, Portsmouth, England, 11 a.m., CBS
Sports on the Air for Saturday, July 19: TV, radio schedule in Wichita
Saturday’s TV / radio AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL AFL: Melbourne at Carlton, 4:30 a.m., FS1 AFL: Fremantle at Collingwood, 11:59 p.m., FS2 BASKETBALL The Basketball Tournament: The Ville vs. Boston v Cancer, round of 64, at Louisville, Ky., 11:30 a.m., FOX The Basketball Tournament: Purple Reign vs. The Shine, round of 64, at Kansas City, Mo., […]
