Northern Illinois University announced a fall enrollment of 15,415, a slight decline from 2023. (NIU photo) 

Northern Illinois University’s fall enrollment held steady compared with the previous year as an official 10-day count of students totaled 15,415. 

The university announced fall enrollment figures Sept. 12, reflecting a slight year-over-year decline but also a surge in transfers, an academically talented freshman class, an uptick in the number of new graduate and law students, and continued re-enrollment successes. 

By comparison, NIU recorded an overall enrollment of 15,504 students in 2023. 

The annual 10-day count shows enrollment of new transfer students increased over last fall by more than 10 percent for a total of 1,462 new students coming to NIU from other colleges. 

The undergraduate enrollment of 11,349 students was about the same as last fall, with more transfers year-over-year but fewer freshmen. The colleges of Education and Visual and Performing Arts each recorded 10-year-high enrollment numbers. 

Overall freshmen enrollment likely would have been higher if not for a series of problems and delays at the federal level related to the rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid.  

EAB, a leading higher education research firm, found that high percentages of families nationally reported problems submitting the FAFSA and delays in receiving their financial aid packages, with 49 percent of parents reporting they did not receive the student aid awards in time to make decisions. 

“NIU was likely impacted more than most other universities because we traditionally enroll many students from underserved populations, such as lower-income and/or first-generation college students,” said Sol Jensen, NIU vice president for Enrollment Management, Marketing and Communications. “Nationwide, the FAFSA problems negatively impacted students from these vulnerable communities the most, and indeed we saw a lower number of FAFSA form completions among prospective freshmen. 

“We’re concerned about, and have plans to reach out to any students who may have put off or delayed college because of the FAFSA delays,” he added. 

NIU President Lisa C. Freeman said the university managed the FAFSA delays as best as possible only because of the work of NIU financial aid staff. 

“I can’t talk about focused efforts related to enrollment without recognizing the commitment and heroism of our financial aid team,” Freeman said. “The team worked day and night to process data that arrived months behind schedule, find workarounds to recurring technical issues, and minimize harm to the university and aspiring Huskies and their families.” 

The average high school GPA of the almost 2,000 new freshmen is 3.39, the third highest on record; nearly 20 percent of those students had 4.0 high school GPAs, with each earning a merit scholarship of $7,000. Similarly, new freshmen with stellar high school GPAs of 3.7 or higher represented 36 percent of the 2024 class. 

In recent years, NIU has been recognized nationally numerous times as a leader in diversity, equity, inclusion and access to higher education—attributes reflected in this year’s crop of new students. The university has built upon recruitment initiatives and partnerships to ensure that the incoming class reflects the demographic diversity of our region and changing face of America. 

One of every two new freshmen is a first-generation college student; 66 percent of new freshmen and 47 percent of new transfers are students of color. NIU also remains on a trajectory to become a fully designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), with Latinx students representing more than one-quarter of the total undergraduate population for the second consecutive year. 

Meanwhile, in the Graduate School, the total number of new students pursuing master’s degrees increased by nearly 3 percent year over year, while the number of new students pursuing doctoral degrees jumped by 27 percent compared to last fall. The NIU Law School also saw a substantial year-over-year increase in new students and a jump in its overall enrollment of nearly 8 percent, to 338 students, a 10-year high or better. 

“I’m thrilled that we continue to experience promising enrollment trends in key areas, including in the diversity and academic quality of our students; substantial increases in new transfer and new graduate and law students; and successful reenrollment of continuing students,” NIU Freeman said. “Our focus on removing barriers to a high-quality education continues to attract talented students from all backgrounds who clearly see NIU as a place where they will succeed.” 

The reenrollment rate of continuing undergraduates is at a seven-year high. 

“Our entire NIU community has made student reenrollment a shared campus responsibility,” Executive Vice President and Provost Laurie Elish-Piper said. “They’ve done a terrific job of supporting our students year-round.” 

Another bright spot this fall is the university’s Rockford Promise Program, a partnership guaranteeing tuition and general fee costs for up to four years at NIU, which earlier this summer was recognized nationally for innovation. The program welcomed 130 freshman Rockford Scholars, bringing the total of scholars at NIU to 365. 

“These and other efforts represent a major university financial commitment to our vision as an engine for innovation to advance social mobility and promote intellectual growth,” Jensen said. 

NIU had 16,769 enrollment  in 2000, well below the peak of nearly 26,000 in the 1980s, according to reports.