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. 

The 2025 B.C. High School Sports provincial track and field championships took place in Langley June 5-7 and there were no shortage of athletes representing the Cowichan Valley. 

Students from Frances Kelsey, Queen Margaret’s School, Ladysmith, Quamichan School, Chemainus Secondary, Brentwood College School,and Shawnigan Lake School all participated and some even brought home medals.

Frances Kelsey

The bronze medallist last year, Kelsey Grade 12 high jumper Nova Wedmann-Kent improved her result to a silver this year in the senior girls category. Wedmann-Kent also ran the senior girls 100m and 200m races but did not qualify for the finals.

Kelsey tenth grader Charlotte Gough finished third in the junior girls 800m preliminaries and fifth overall. She also raced to fifth in the junior girls 1500m preliminaries and went on to place seventh overall — a three spot improvement over last year’s 10th place. 

Queen Margaret’s School

Jessica Tshibangu of Queen Margaret’s School placed seventh overall in the junior girls high jump and 12th in the long jump. Schoolmate Cohen Bartfai was ninth in the junior boys long jump after a second-place finish in the Grade 8 division last year.

Grade 12 jumper Mike Chen was 19th in the senior boys triple jump finals while Grade 10 thrower Elsie Jones was 27th in the junior girls shot put. 

Ethan Chen made the provincials in the senior boys high jump but did not jump.

Ladysmith Secondary

Four members of the Ladysmith track team made the provincials including William Cram, Skyla Lewis, Lila Jeffries, and Lina Anh Chay.

Cram was first in the junior boys 800m preliminaries and went on to earn the silver medal in the final. Also, after placing third in his preliminary race, Cram was sixth overall in the junior boys 400m race. 

Lila Jeffries placed 12th in the junior girls hammer throw event. 

Lina Anh Chay was 18th in the junior girls javelin final. 

Skyla Lewis was 28th overall in the junior girls 3000m race. She was 18th in the 1500m preliminary and did not advance to the 1500m final.

Brentwood College School

The lone athlete from BCS at this year’s track and field provincials was Ava Heenan. The 400m specialist participated in both the senior girls 400m dash and 400m hurdles. In the hurdles, she placed ninth in the preliminaries, just outside of a spot in the final. In the 400m dash, the Grade 11 athlete placed 21st in the preliminaries and did not advance.

Shawnigan Lake School

Grade 12 thrower Thabisa Mangena-Jellema’s top result was 11th in the senior girls discus. She also participated in the senior girls shot put event, placing 21st overall.

Quamichan School

Tate McGeachy was the lone Quamichan School representative and he placed 16th overall in the Grade 8 boys 400m dash preliminaries, missing the finals.

Chemainus Secondary

Iza Durante represented Chemainus at the provincials and placed 11th in the 400m dash preliminaries, missing the final.

Bill Dellinger, one of the most influential figures in track and field, distance running and the University of Oregon’s history, died June 27 at the age of 91.

The Arkansas Razorbacks have earned a top-20 finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings for a program-record fifth consecutive year, the university announced Thursday.

The award is given annually by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics to the colleges and universities with the most success in collegiate athletics.

The Razorbacks ranked No. 5 in the Southeastern Conference and No. 11 overall in the final standings released by the NACDA, a news release said.

Arkansas earned a total of 966.7 points and is one of 11 league programs in the top 25 of the final standings.

Arkansas finished No. 18 in 2023-24, No. 13 in 2022-23, No. 7 in 2021-22 and No. 8 in 2020-21.

Arkansas has won eight NCAA championships and 39 Southeastern Conference team championships in the past seven years, including 31 conference titles in the past five years alone, the release said.

Both conference championship totals lead all SEC programs and the Hog’s 39 titles are more than seven other league programs combined in that same time-frame.

“Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our student-athletes, coaches, staff and the loyal support of our Razorback Foundation members, the University of Arkansas once again ranks among the nation’s top performing collegiate athletics programs,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek in the release.

“Our program has finished in the top 20 of the Directors’ Cup for a school record five years in a row, even while competing against programs that have far more than 19 sports. We are grateful for the loyal support of Razorback fans who have and will continue to play an integral part in our success as we move forward into a new era of intercollegiate athletics.”

Football

A win over Texas Tech capped the season in style as the Razorbacks won their fourth straight AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

The win was also the third bowl win under Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman, the release said.

Pittman is 3-0 as a head coach in bowl games at Arkansas, becoming the first Razorback coach to win his first three bowl outings. The victory earned Arkansas 45 Directors’ Cup points.

Baseball

The final Directors’ Cup standings include points awarded in baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s beach volleyball, women’s bowling, men’s and women’s cross country, fencing, women’s field hockey, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s hockey, men’s and women’s lacrosse, rifle, women’s rowing, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, skiing, men’s and women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor track & field, men’s and women’s outdoor track & field, men’s and women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s water polo and wrestling, the release said.

Arkansas ended a strong baseball season with its 12th appearance at the College World Series. Led by Golden Spikes Award winner Wehiwa Aloy, the Hogs swept through the NCAA Regional and Super Regional rounds at Baum-Walker Stadium to earn a trip to Omaha.

Arkansas finished tied for third at the CWS and ended one step short of the championship series. The Hogs finished the season with a record of 50-15 and earned a top-5 national finish for the seventh time in school history. For their baseball season, Arkansas earned 83 Directors’ Cup points, it said.

Basketball

New head coach John Calipari’s Razorback men’s basketball team made an improbable run into the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Sweet 16 after starting SEC play winless in its first five games.

Arkansas finished the season with a 22-14 record, earned its 37th NCAA appearance and its 15th NCAA Sweet 16, including its fourth in the last five years, the release said.

The Hogs were a No. 10 seed and topped No. 7 seed Kansas (79-72) in the opening round, before upsetting No. 2 seed St. John’s (75-66) in the second round of the tournament.

Arkansas’ season came to an end to No. 3 Texas Tech (85-83). The Razorbacks earned 64 Directors’ Cup points for the NCAA Tournament run, it said.

Softball

Led by Bri Ellis, the Softball America and USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Arkansas finished the 2025 campaign with a 44-14 overall record while making its fourth Super Regional appearance in program history, the release said.

The Hogs’ 44 wins were the most since 2022, with 48.

The Razorbacks were named the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and won the NCAA Fayetteville Regional, before falling in game three of the Fayetteville Super Regional to Ole Miss. The Hogs earned 64 points towards the Directors’ Cup from softball.

Soccer

Razorback Soccer continued its recent run of success on the pitch. Arkansas earned a No. 2 seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament and hosted three rounds of postseason play in front of capacity crowds at Razorback Field.

Head coach Colby Hale’s squad advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history in 2024, including the third time in the past four seasons, it said.

The postseason success gained Arkansas 64 points in the Directors’ Cup standings.

Men’s track and field

The 2025 SEC Champion Arkansas men’s track and field team made a strong run at yet another national championship at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

A strong final day of performances clinched the Razorbacks a No. 3, just one point shy of two teams that tied for the national championship, the release said.

Head coach Chris Bucknam and the Razorback men in the past eight NCAA championships held in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field. Jordan Anthony starred for the Razorbacks, capturing the individual title in the 100m with a time of 10.07. This marked the seventh podium finish for Bucknam’s Hogs.

Arkansas collected 85 Directors’ Cup points for its top-three national finish in men’s outdoor track and field.

Women’s outdoor track and field

Arkansas women’s outdoor track and field tallied 70.5 Directors’ Cup points after the Razorbacks finished eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

Led by a runner-up finish in the 4-x-400-meter relay and a bronze medal effort from Rosey Effiong in the 400 meters, the Hogs earned a top-10 finish at the national meet for Coach Chris Johnson.

This marked the fourth straight top-10 finish and the 10th time in the past 12 NCAA Outdoor meets, the Running Razorback women’s squad has accomplished that feat, it said.

Women’s golf

While making history, the Razorback women’s golf team pushed its way to a deep run in the postseason.

Arkansas advanced through the NCAA Regional and team stroke play at the NCAA Championship, before losing in the quarterfinals of match play competition to the eventual national championship team in Northwestern.

Sophomore Maria José Marin led the team and, in the process, became the third Razorback in history to win the individual national championships. For its NCAA quarterfinal finish, Arkansas scored 72.75 in Directors’ Cup points, the release said.

Men’s golf

Returning to a familiar place again in 2025, Arkansas men’s golf made the NCAA postseason. The Razorback men’s team played in its 17th straight NCAA Regional and competed as a team or with individuals in 31-of-36 Regionals held since 1989, it said.

Arkansas finished in the top seven as a team at the NCAA Amherst Regional and stumbled just short of qualifying for the NCAA Championship. For its regional appearance, the Razorbacks earned 33.5 Directors’ Cup points, it said.

Gymnastics

Razorback Gymnastics netted Arkansas 60.8 Directors’ Cup points in a strong season. The Hill’s Gymbacks advanced to the NCAA University Park Regional as a team before finishing one step shy of the NCAA Final.

Senior Maddie Jones and freshman Joscelyn Roberson moved to the NCAA Championship in individuals, with Jones competing on the uneven bars and Roberson competing in the all-around competition.

Men’s and women’s indoor Track and Field

Arkansas was on the podium following both the men’s and women’s competition at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Jordan Anthony won the 60-meter and a silver medal finish for Jack Turner in the heptathlon propelled the Arkansas men to a fourth-place trophy finish.

Anthony became the first Razorback to win the 60-meter at the NCAA Indoor, it said.

Turner’s score of 5,962 points placed second to Peyton Bair of Mississippi State in the heptathlon. The Running Razorbacks collected 80 Directors’ Cup points for the team finish.

Isabella Whittaker ran an amazing performance, producing an American and collegiate record in the 400-meter as she blasted a 2025 world-leading time of 49.24 seconds to lead the Razorback women, it said.

Arkansas finished in a three-way tie for fourth place in team standings with 31 points, earning 76.2 Directors’ Cup points.

Swim and dive

Freshman diver Maria Sanchez competed in three different events and led the Razorbacks to a 40th-place finish at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Sanchez-Moreno competed in the 1-meter (20th), 3-meter (13th) and platform (24th) dives.

Her performances at the national meet earned All-America Honorable Mention honors and earned Arkansas 26 Directors’ Cup points in women’s swimming and diving, the release said.

Cross country

The Razorback men’s cross country team earned the program’s first top-5 national finish of the year.

No. 3 Arkansas secured a third-place finish at the national meet with 202 points, it said.

Three Razorbacks earned All-America honors as the Hogs secured their 24th top-four NCAA Cross Country finish in school history. Bucknam’s squad earned 85 Directors’ Cup points for its championship performance.

Paityn Noe led the Razorbacks women’s cross country team recorded a top-20 finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, it said.

Noe crossed the line seventh in the individual race to earn All-America honors and lead the Razorbacks to a No. 17 team finish. Arkansas earned 57 Directors’ Cup points for the performance.