Enrollment Trends at Western Illinois

-4,762

Total Enrollment

-2,769

Men

-1,993

Women

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 over the past decade.

The percentage of undergraduate students at Western Illinois is 71.46% which is decreased by 4,616 over last 10 years. The graduate student population decreased by 146 and it has been decreasing.

The female to male ratio is 1.46 to 1 which means that female students enrolled more than male students.

1,607 students enrolled in online degree program exclusively and the number of online students has increased by 78.95% since 2015.

Student Population Changes

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.

71.46% of total students is undergraduate students and 28.54% students is graduate students. The number of undergraduate students has decreased by 4,616 and the graduate enrollment has decreased by 146 over past 10 years.

The female to male ratio is 1.46 to 1 and it means that there are more female students enrolled in Western Illinois than male students.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Western Illinois University since 2015.

YearTotalUndergraduateGraduate
TotalMenWomenTotalMenWomen
2015-1611,0949,1414,5424,5991,9537961,157
2016-1710,373
-721
8,543
-598
4,191
-351
4,352
-247
1,830
-123
755
-41
1,075
-82
2017-189,441
-932
7,599
-944
3,753
-438
3,846
-506
1,842
12
793
38
1,049
-26
2018-198,502
-939
6,754
-845
3,262
-491
3,492
-354
1,748
-94
728
-65
1,020
-29
2019-207,624
-878
5,958
-796
2,821
-441
3,137
-355
1,666
-82
668
-60
998
-22
2020-217,490
-134
5,854
-104
2,642
-179
3,212
75
1,636
-30
633
-35
1,003
5
2021-227,455
-35
5,394
-460
2,347
-295
3,047
-165
2,061
425
884
251
1,177
174
2022-237,643
188
5,309
-85
2,280
-67
3,029
-18
2,334
273
1,043
159
1,291
114
2023-247,073
-570
5,025
-284
2,073
-207
2,952
-77
2,048
-286
866
-177
1,182
-109
2024-256,332
-741
4,525
-500
1,858
-215
2,667
-285
1,807
-241
711
-155
1,096
-86
Average8,3036,4102,9773,4331,8937881,105
Western Illinois University Enrollment Trends Chart

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

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.

YearTotalFull-timePart-time
TotalMenWomenTotalMenWomen
2015-169,1418,1064,0114,0951,035531504
2016-178,5437,4823,6623,8201,061529532
2017-187,5996,6683,2563,412931497434
2018-196,7545,9492,8493,100805413392
2019-205,9585,1512,4082,743807413394
2020-215,8544,9992,2302,769855412443
2021-225,3944,5741,9662,608820381439
2022-235,3094,4691,9102,559840370470
2023-245,0254,2521,7842,468773289484
2024-254,5253,7361,5502,186789308481
Average6,4106,4102,5632,9766,410414457
Western Illinois University Undergraduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Graduate Enrollment Changes

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.

YearTotalFull-timePart-time
TotalMenWomenTotalMenWomen
2015-161,9538824084741,071388683
2016-171,830878429449952326626
2017-181,842963474489879319560
2018-191,748829402427919326593
2019-201,666729330399937338599
2020-211,636704320384932313619
2021-222,0611,0075314761,054353701
2022-232,3341,2676945731,067349718
2023-242,0489684844841,080382698
2024-251,8077883634251,019348671
Average1,8931,8934444581,893344647
Western Illinois University Graduate Enrollment Trends Chart

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

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).

YearAmerican Indian or Native AmericanAsianBlackHispanicNative Hawaiian or Other Pacific IslanderWhiteTwo or More Races
2015-16151051,8951,04997,001257
2016-1712971,8711,05556,368269
2017-1810881,77599425,681260
2018-198951,56894035,124237
2019-2011911,30882154,736183
2020-21141011,39285874,525190
2021-229871,26278184,317185
2022-2310881,31076894,037185
2023-249891,16472563,824193
2024-2579096666173,615187
Average11931,45186564,923215
Western Illinois University Enrollment by Race Trends Chart

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

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.

YearTotal EnrollmentOnline CompletelyEnrolled in Some Online CoursesNot Enrolled in Online Courses
2015-1611,0948982,2107,986
2016-1710,3739252,4137,035
2017-189,4419222,2966,223
2018-198,5029592,4955,048
2019-207,6241,0612,6273,936
2020-217,4901,7904,705995
2021-227,4551,7444,2031,508
2022-237,6431,8073,7342,102
2023-247,0731,6013,3972,075
2024-256,3321,6072,9171,808
Average8,3031,3313,1003,872

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