Fall enrollment numbers at the University of Illinois Springfield took a 5% plunge, school officials said Wednesday.
The total number of undergraduate and graduate school students enrolled in classes stands at 3,944 compared to 4,146 students in fall 2020.
Karen Whitney, UIS interim chancellor, said the COVID-19 pandemic was problematic in how the university's recruitment and admissions teams got out to high schools and community colleges.
"It's understandable that it was a difficult recruitment year," she said. "It's been challenging to have schools open. It's been challenging to create the events for prospective students who were in high school last year. It was a challenge for us throughout the whole recruitment cycle."
This article appeared in The State Journal-Register on Sept. 8, 2021.