Tenth day enrollment numbers have not been released yet because some data was not corrected correctly.

“There was a little hiccup… for reporting gender and ethnicity for about 20 students,” said Josh Norman, the associate vice president for enrollment management. “Before we can do the release, all the data has to be fixed.”

The tenth day of classes was Friday, Aug.22.

Looking at numbers now, freshman enrollment is down, while transfer, international undergraduate and graduate enrollment is up.

Norman said the deficit in the number of students will be the lowest Eastern has had in 6 years.

He said 394 was the deficit six years ago.

“That’s a really positive trend,” Norman said.

Norman said even though a budget was passed for the state of Illinois, the impact of the two-year budget impasse can still be seen on enrollment numbers.

“This second year budget impasse, that being resolved in August, didn’t help any of us,” Norman said.

“Those freshmen are looking at four years,in some cases five, six years of time at an institution, and when you’ve gone two years with a budget impasse in the state of Illinois, it has affected all of the institutions in the state except for the flagship schools.”

According to the Pantagraph, enrollment numbers for undergraduate students at Illinois State University have dropped 1.2 percent from fall 2016, to 20,784. Graduate numbers haven risen, however.

At Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, enrollment dropped by nearly 9 percent compared to last year, as reported by the Pantagraph. Fall enrollment for SIU-C this year totals about 14,500, with 408 fewer freshman than fall 2016.

Norman said he believes transfer enrollment numbers are up because of the dedication Eastern has shown to developing strategic partnerships with community college partners.

“When the chips are down, if you can rely on those relationships you can still come out on top,” Norman said. “We’re just trying to make a clear pathway for those transfer students to EIU and that’s just it. I want to be the most transfer-friendly institution in the state.”

Chrissy Miller can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected]