The student population at Governors State University is 4,397 (2,572 undergraduate and 1,825 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 1,541 (25.95%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 4,879 where 4,397 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 2 year-over-year increases and 7 decreases. It peaked at 5,938 students in 2016 and was lowest at 4,337 in 2024. Overall, enrollment dropped from 5,938 to 4,397 students, a net loss of 1,541 (26%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Governors State University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 5,938 | 3,570 | 1,234 | 2,336 | 2,368 | 752 | 1,616 |
| 2016-17 | 5,819 -119 | 3,517 -53 | 1,249 15 | 2,268 -68 | 2,302 -66 | 768 16 | 1,534 -82 |
| 2017-18 | 5,185 -634 | 3,326 -191 | 1,215 -34 | 2,111 -157 | 1,859 -443 | 516 -252 | 1,343 -191 |
| 2018-19 | 4,857 -328 | 3,262 -64 | 1,247 32 | 2,015 -96 | 1,595 -264 | 424 -92 | 1,171 -172 |
| 2019-20 | 4,789 -68 | 3,206 -56 | 1,178 -69 | 2,028 13 | 1,583 -12 | 442 18 | 1,141 -30 |
| 2020-21 | 4,650 -139 | 3,022 -184 | 1,074 -104 | 1,948 -80 | 1,628 45 | 473 31 | 1,155 14 |
| 2021-22 | 4,395 -255 | 2,709 -313 | 988 -86 | 1,721 -227 | 1,686 58 | 535 62 | 1,151 -4 |
| 2022-23 | 4,427 32 | 2,609 -100 | 961 -27 | 1,648 -73 | 1,818 132 | 639 104 | 1,179 28 |
| 2023-24 | 4,337 -90 | 2,536 -73 | 968 7 | 1,568 -80 | 1,801 -17 | 631 -8 | 1,170 -9 |
| 2024-25 | 4,397 60 | 2,572 36 | 950 -18 | 1,622 54 | 1,825 24 | 614 -17 | 1,211 41 |
| Average | 4,879 | 3,033 | 1,106 | 1,927 | 1,847 | 579 | 1,267 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 3,033 where 2,572 students are attending the Undergraduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Governors State University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 3,570 | 1,869 | 689 | 1,180 | 1,701 | 545 | 1,156 |
| 2016-17 | 3,517 | 1,926 | 710 | 1,216 | 1,591 | 539 | 1,052 |
| 2017-18 | 3,326 | 1,879 | 716 | 1,163 | 1,447 | 499 | 948 |
| 2018-19 | 3,262 | 1,882 | 750 | 1,132 | 1,380 | 497 | 883 |
| 2019-20 | 3,206 | 1,918 | 747 | 1,171 | 1,288 | 431 | 857 |
| 2020-21 | 3,022 | 1,829 | 654 | 1,175 | 1,193 | 420 | 773 |
| 2021-22 | 2,709 | 1,659 | 625 | 1,034 | 1,050 | 363 | 687 |
| 2022-23 | 2,609 | 1,629 | 615 | 1,014 | 980 | 346 | 634 |
| 2023-24 | 2,536 | 1,676 | 678 | 998 | 860 | 290 | 570 |
| 2024-25 | 2,572 | 1,745 | 672 | 1,073 | 827 | 278 | 549 |
| Average | 3,033 | 3,033 | 686 | 1,116 | 3,033 | 421 | 811 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 1,847 where 1,825 students are attending the Graduate school for the academic year 2024-2025. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Governors State University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 2,368 | 978 | 396 | 582 | 1,390 | 356 | 1,034 |
| 2016-17 | 2,302 | 940 | 393 | 547 | 1,362 | 375 | 987 |
| 2017-18 | 1,859 | 743 | 231 | 512 | 1,116 | 285 | 831 |
| 2018-19 | 1,595 | 635 | 169 | 466 | 960 | 255 | 705 |
| 2019-20 | 1,583 | 647 | 195 | 452 | 936 | 247 | 689 |
| 2020-21 | 1,628 | 685 | 218 | 467 | 943 | 255 | 688 |
| 2021-22 | 1,686 | 782 | 317 | 465 | 904 | 218 | 686 |
| 2022-23 | 1,818 | 964 | 432 | 532 | 854 | 207 | 647 |
| 2023-24 | 1,801 | 985 | 419 | 566 | 816 | 212 | 604 |
| 2024-25 | 1,825 | 1,003 | 411 | 592 | 822 | 203 | 619 |
| Average | 1,847 | 1,847 | 318 | 518 | 1,847 | 261 | 749 |
The percentage of white students is 26.40% and the percentage of black students is 35.57% at Governors State University. 2.14% of enrolled students is Asian. Hispanic students comprise 16.40% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 36.19% to 26.40%. Asian enrollment grew from 1.72% to 2.14%. Black student enrollment decreased from 36.12% to 35.57%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 9.68% to 16.40%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.7754 which indicates that quite diverse. This increased from 0.7285 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Governors State University over the past 11 years (2015-2025).
| Year | American Indian or Native American | Asian | Black | Hispanic | Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | White | Two or More Races |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 10 | 102 | 2,145 | 575 | 3 | 2,149 | 113 |
| 2016-17 | 9 | 98 | 2,122 | 600 | 5 | 1,993 | 123 |
| 2017-18 | 5 | 108 | 2,002 | 603 | 3 | 1,727 | 124 |
| 2018-19 | 3 | 99 | 1,866 | 630 | 2 | 1,595 | 137 |
| 2019-20 | 1 | 114 | 1,854 | 645 | 4 | 1,526 | 131 |
| 2020-21 | 4 | 122 | 1,784 | 691 | 2 | 1,494 | 120 |
| 2021-22 | 5 | 113 | 1,596 | 660 | 1 | 1,342 | 138 |
| 2022-23 | 6 | 110 | 1,566 | 662 | 3 | 1,279 | 124 |
| 2023-24 | 3 | 101 | 1,548 | 686 | 3 | 1,166 | 125 |
| 2024-25 | 4 | 94 | 1,564 | 721 | 1 | 1,161 | 143 |
| Average | 5 | 106 | 1,805 | 647 | 3 | 1,543 | 128 |
1,705 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 39% of total students. The number of online students has increased 178.59% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Governors State University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 5,938 | 612 | 1,504 | 3,822 |
| 2016-17 | 5,819 | 627 | 1,683 | 3,509 |
| 2017-18 | 5,185 | 644 | 1,598 | 2,943 |
| 2018-19 | 4,857 | 617 | 1,721 | 2,519 |
| 2019-20 | 4,789 | 1,026 | 446 | 3,317 |
| 2020-21 | 4,650 | 744 | 1,897 | 2,009 |
| 2021-22 | 4,395 | 1,075 | 1,840 | 1,480 |
| 2022-23 | 4,427 | 1,448 | 1,910 | 1,069 |
| 2023-24 | 4,337 | 1,564 | 1,929 | 844 |
| 2024-25 | 4,397 | 1,705 | 1,813 | 879 |
| Average | 4,879 | 1,006 | 1,634 | 2,239 |
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