(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – More Illinoisans are giving it the old college try.
A news release from Gov. JB Pritzker’s office says enrollment at the state’s twelve public universities is up for the third straight year, to 190,114. That’s up only 287 students from this time a year ago, but it does mark the third straight increase and the highest total since 2015.
The governor’s office credits, among other things, the state’s investment in its universities “despite intentional efforts by the Trump Administration to destabilize higher education.”
While Black (+1,608) and Latino (+1,156) enrollment is up, international enrollment is down 14 percent. The federal government gets the blame for that, too: “The decreases are attributed to changes to student visa processing by the federal government. These changes have negatively affected enrollment at public and private universities in Illinois and across the country, creating an unnecessary fiscal strain on postsecondary institutions and diminishing access to talent in all areas of study,” said the news release.
Funding for higher education since FY 19 is up 25 percent. MAP Grant funding is up 80 percent over the same time.
