The student population at Southwestern Illinois College is 8,492 (all undergraduate). The number of students has decreased by 1,451 over the past decade.
The female to male ratio is 1.29 to 1 which means that female students enrolled slightly more than male students.
1,276 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 134.99% since 2015.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 8,342 where 8,492 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
The female to male ratio is 1.29 to 1 and it means that there are slightly more female students enrolled in SWIC than male students.
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Southwestern Illinois College since 2015.
| Year | Total | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 9,943 | 4,420 | 5,523 |
| 2016-17 | 9,515 -428 | 4,395 -25 | 5,120 -403 |
| 2017-18 | 8,859 -656 | 4,001 -394 | 4,858 -262 |
| 2018-19 | 8,841 -18 | 3,943 -58 | 4,898 40 |
| 2019-20 | 8,508 -333 | 3,816 -127 | 4,692 -206 |
| 2020-21 | 6,906 -1,602 | 2,976 -840 | 3,930 -762 |
| 2021-22 | 7,213 307 | 3,148 172 | 4,065 135 |
| 2022-23 | 7,188 -25 | 3,141 -7 | 4,047 -18 |
| 2023-24 | 7,955 767 | 3,467 326 | 4,488 441 |
| 2024-25 | 8,492 537 | 3,701 234 | 4,791 303 |
| Average | 8,342 | 3,701 | 4,641 |
The percentage of white students is 58.08%. The percentage was 64.34% 10 years ago and SWIC still has a high percentage of white students. 1.15% of enrolled students is Asian and 21.26% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 8.44% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 64.34% to 58.08%. Black student enrollment increased from 20.61% to 21.26%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 4.82% to 8.44%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.6067 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.5390 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Southwestern Illinois College 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 | 18 | 114 | 2,049 | 479 | 23 | 6,397 | 461 |
| 2016-17 | 24 | 100 | 1,841 | 488 | 16 | 6,184 | 457 |
| 2017-18 | 19 | 115 | 1,634 | 513 | 11 | 5,741 | 436 |
| 2018-19 | 18 | 125 | 1,660 | 541 | 11 | 5,600 | 472 |
| 2019-20 | 20 | 127 | 1,574 | 557 | 13 | 5,315 | 443 |
| 2020-21 | 17 | 98 | 1,233 | 461 | 10 | 4,382 | 357 |
| 2021-22 | 18 | 97 | 1,385 | 503 | 12 | 4,462 | 375 |
| 2022-23 | 13 | 96 | 1,479 | 516 | 9 | 4,263 | 407 |
| 2023-24 | 15 | 89 | 1,657 | 610 | 7 | 4,696 | 452 |
| 2024-25 | 20 | 98 | 1,805 | 717 | 9 | 4,932 | 509 |
| Average | 18 | 106 | 1,632 | 539 | 12 | 5,197 | 437 |
1,276 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 15% of total students. The number of online students has increased 134.99% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Southwestern Illinois College from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 9,943 | 543 | 1,613 | 7,787 |
| 2016-17 | 9,515 | 595 | 1,680 | 7,240 |
| 2017-18 | 8,859 | 608 | 1,742 | 6,509 |
| 2018-19 | 8,841 | 594 | 1,760 | 6,487 |
| 2019-20 | 8,508 | 655 | 1,747 | 6,106 |
| 2020-21 | 6,906 | 1,416 | 2,230 | 3,260 |
| 2021-22 | 7,213 | 1,357 | 1,853 | 4,003 |
| 2022-23 | 7,188 | 1,322 | 1,793 | 4,073 |
| 2023-24 | 7,955 | 1,219 | 1,984 | 4,752 |
| 2024-25 | 8,492 | 1,276 | 2,280 | 4,936 |
| Average | 8,342 | 959 | 1,868 | 5,515 |
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