Nearly 900 University of Illinois Springfield students returned to campus for the start of Fall Semester 2020 classes during Move-In Week, held Aug. 17-21.

All students were required to pre-register for a move-in time slot in order to reduce congestion and support physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) is celebrating its 50th anniversary during academic year 2020-21, as the public liberal arts university reflects on a bold legacy and looks forward to a bright future as an educational leader in central Illinois and beyond.

Billboards featuring UIS’ 50th anniversary logo and tagline “Bold Legacy. Bright Future.” are now up in Springfield. UIS also plans to celebrate the anniversary on its social media channels.

After the first 10 days of classes, University of Illinois Springfield Fall 2020 census numbers show the total number of students enrolled in classes stands at 4,146 compared to 4,275 students in Fall 2019 (a 3 percent decrease from last year). However, the total number of credit hours taken by students remains steady at 43,130 (down only 1.2 percent from last fall).

The University of Illinois Springfield has been ranked the top public regional university in Illinois and the fourth best public university in the Midwest regional category for a second year in a row by U.S. News & World Report in 2021 Best Colleges rankings released today.

UIS was also ranked fifth best by U.S. News & World Report when it comes to students graduating with the least amount of debt in the Midwest regional category.

Ten years after her book about Mulan was published, UIS English Professor Lan Dong, Ph.D. is still sought out for her expertise on the subject. With Disney’s live-action film, Mulan, released to Disney Plus earlier this month, Dong again found herself in the national spotlight.