The student population at Western Illinois University is 6,332 (4,525 undergraduate and 1,807 graduate students) . The number of students has decreased by 4,762 (42.92%) over the past decade.
The average student population over the last 11 years is 8,303 where 6,332 students are attending the school for the academic year 2024-2025.
Total enrollment fluctuated between 2016 and 2025, with 1 year-over-year increase and 8 decreases. It peaked at 11,094 students in 2016 and was lowest at 6,332 in 2025. Overall, enrollment dropped from 11,094 to 6,332 students, a net loss of 4,762 (42.9%).
The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Western Illinois University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Undergraduate | Graduate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 11,094 | 9,141 | 4,542 | 4,599 | 1,953 | 796 | 1,157 |
| 2016-17 | 10,373 -721 | 8,543 -598 | 4,191 -351 | 4,352 -247 | 1,830 -123 | 755 -41 | 1,075 -82 |
| 2017-18 | 9,441 -932 | 7,599 -944 | 3,753 -438 | 3,846 -506 | 1,842 12 | 793 38 | 1,049 -26 |
| 2018-19 | 8,502 -939 | 6,754 -845 | 3,262 -491 | 3,492 -354 | 1,748 -94 | 728 -65 | 1,020 -29 |
| 2019-20 | 7,624 -878 | 5,958 -796 | 2,821 -441 | 3,137 -355 | 1,666 -82 | 668 -60 | 998 -22 |
| 2020-21 | 7,490 -134 | 5,854 -104 | 2,642 -179 | 3,212 75 | 1,636 -30 | 633 -35 | 1,003 5 |
| 2021-22 | 7,455 -35 | 5,394 -460 | 2,347 -295 | 3,047 -165 | 2,061 425 | 884 251 | 1,177 174 |
| 2022-23 | 7,643 188 | 5,309 -85 | 2,280 -67 | 3,029 -18 | 2,334 273 | 1,043 159 | 1,291 114 |
| 2023-24 | 7,073 -570 | 5,025 -284 | 2,073 -207 | 2,952 -77 | 2,048 -286 | 866 -177 | 1,182 -109 |
| 2024-25 | 6,332 -741 | 4,525 -500 | 1,858 -215 | 2,667 -285 | 1,807 -241 | 711 -155 | 1,096 -86 |
| Average | 8,303 | 6,410 | 2,977 | 3,433 | 1,893 | 788 | 1,105 |
The average number of Undergraduate students over the last 11 years is 6,410 where 4,525 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 Western Illinois University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 9,141 | 8,106 | 4,011 | 4,095 | 1,035 | 531 | 504 |
| 2016-17 | 8,543 | 7,482 | 3,662 | 3,820 | 1,061 | 529 | 532 |
| 2017-18 | 7,599 | 6,668 | 3,256 | 3,412 | 931 | 497 | 434 |
| 2018-19 | 6,754 | 5,949 | 2,849 | 3,100 | 805 | 413 | 392 |
| 2019-20 | 5,958 | 5,151 | 2,408 | 2,743 | 807 | 413 | 394 |
| 2020-21 | 5,854 | 4,999 | 2,230 | 2,769 | 855 | 412 | 443 |
| 2021-22 | 5,394 | 4,574 | 1,966 | 2,608 | 820 | 381 | 439 |
| 2022-23 | 5,309 | 4,469 | 1,910 | 2,559 | 840 | 370 | 470 |
| 2023-24 | 5,025 | 4,252 | 1,784 | 2,468 | 773 | 289 | 484 |
| 2024-25 | 4,525 | 3,736 | 1,550 | 2,186 | 789 | 308 | 481 |
| Average | 6,410 | 6,410 | 2,563 | 2,976 | 6,410 | 414 | 457 |
The average number of Graduate students over the last 11 years is 1,893 where 1,807 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 Western Illinois University since 2015.
| Year | Total | Full-time | Part-time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Men | Women | Total | Men | Women | ||
| 2015-16 | 1,953 | 882 | 408 | 474 | 1,071 | 388 | 683 |
| 2016-17 | 1,830 | 878 | 429 | 449 | 952 | 326 | 626 |
| 2017-18 | 1,842 | 963 | 474 | 489 | 879 | 319 | 560 |
| 2018-19 | 1,748 | 829 | 402 | 427 | 919 | 326 | 593 |
| 2019-20 | 1,666 | 729 | 330 | 399 | 937 | 338 | 599 |
| 2020-21 | 1,636 | 704 | 320 | 384 | 932 | 313 | 619 |
| 2021-22 | 2,061 | 1,007 | 531 | 476 | 1,054 | 353 | 701 |
| 2022-23 | 2,334 | 1,267 | 694 | 573 | 1,067 | 349 | 718 |
| 2023-24 | 2,048 | 968 | 484 | 484 | 1,080 | 382 | 698 |
| 2024-25 | 1,807 | 788 | 363 | 425 | 1,019 | 348 | 671 |
| Average | 1,893 | 1,893 | 444 | 458 | 1,893 | 344 | 647 |
The percentage of white students is 57.09%. The percentage was 63.11% 10 years ago and Western Illinois still has a high percentage of white students. 1.42% of enrolled students is Asian and 15.26% is black students. Hispanic students comprise 10.44% of the student body.
Over the past 10 years, the racial composition has shifted. The percentage of white students decreased from 63.11% to 57.09%. Asian enrollment grew from 0.95% to 1.42%. Black student enrollment decreased from 17.08% to 15.26%. Hispanic student representation expanded from 9.46% to 10.44%.
The overall racial diversity, measured by the Census Bureau Diversity Index, is 0.6388 which indicates that moderately diverse. This increased from 0.5630 a decade ago, suggesting that racial diversity has improved.
The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Western Illinois 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 | 15 | 105 | 1,895 | 1,049 | 9 | 7,001 | 257 |
| 2016-17 | 12 | 97 | 1,871 | 1,055 | 5 | 6,368 | 269 |
| 2017-18 | 10 | 88 | 1,775 | 994 | 2 | 5,681 | 260 |
| 2018-19 | 8 | 95 | 1,568 | 940 | 3 | 5,124 | 237 |
| 2019-20 | 11 | 91 | 1,308 | 821 | 5 | 4,736 | 183 |
| 2020-21 | 14 | 101 | 1,392 | 858 | 7 | 4,525 | 190 |
| 2021-22 | 9 | 87 | 1,262 | 781 | 8 | 4,317 | 185 |
| 2022-23 | 10 | 88 | 1,310 | 768 | 9 | 4,037 | 185 |
| 2023-24 | 9 | 89 | 1,164 | 725 | 6 | 3,824 | 193 |
| 2024-25 | 7 | 90 | 966 | 661 | 7 | 3,615 | 187 |
| Average | 11 | 93 | 1,451 | 865 | 6 | 4,923 | 215 |
1,607 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 25% of total students. The number of online students has increased 78.95% since 2015. The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Western Illinois University from 2015 to 2025.
| Year | Total Enrollment | Online Completely | Enrolled in Some Online Courses | Not Enrolled in Online Courses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 11,094 | 898 | 2,210 | 7,986 |
| 2016-17 | 10,373 | 925 | 2,413 | 7,035 |
| 2017-18 | 9,441 | 922 | 2,296 | 6,223 |
| 2018-19 | 8,502 | 959 | 2,495 | 5,048 |
| 2019-20 | 7,624 | 1,061 | 2,627 | 3,936 |
| 2020-21 | 7,490 | 1,790 | 4,705 | 995 |
| 2021-22 | 7,455 | 1,744 | 4,203 | 1,508 |
| 2022-23 | 7,643 | 1,807 | 3,734 | 2,102 |
| 2023-24 | 7,073 | 1,601 | 3,397 | 2,075 |
| 2024-25 | 6,332 | 1,607 | 2,917 | 1,808 |
| Average | 8,303 | 1,331 | 3,100 | 3,872 |
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