Illinois Community Colleges See Largest Year-To-Year Enrollment Growth In More Than A Decade

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Community College System has recorded its largest year-over-year enrollment growth in nearly 15 years. Opening Spring 2023 enrollment increased by 7.2 percent from the previous spring according to the Illinois Community College Board’s (ICCB) Spring 2023 Enrollment Report.

“This upward enrollment trend is encouraging and continues to signal a shift towards pre-pandemic levels. This data furthers our confidence that efforts to expand learning opportunities and increase access to a community college education are working,” said ICCB Executive Director Brian Durham.

The 2023 Spring Enrollment Report shows the first Spring-to-Spring semester increase in the last five years. It’s also the second largest enrollment increase in nearly 15 years (7.8 percent increase between Spring 2009-2010), and the second consecutive semester of growth for the nation’s third-largest community college system.

Significant findings from the Spring 2023 Illinois Community College Opening Enrollment Report include:

• Thirty-nine community colleges experienced an enrollment increase from Spring 2022 to Spring 2023.
• Instructional areas primarily dependent on in-person instruction had two of the largest enrollment increases: Career and Technical Education (+9.6 percent) and Vocational Skill Training (+10.1 percent).
• Enrollment for transfer programs, which is the largest instructional area in the Illinois Community College System, increased 6.4 percent from the previous year, while General Studies Certificate programs increased by 9.1 percent during the same timeframe.
• Adult Education, which encompasses a substantial at-risk population, increased enrollment by 29.0 percent from Spring 2022 to Spring 2023.
• Enrollment for Dual Credit courses, which allows academically prepared high school students to simultaneously earn credits that count toward a high school diploma and a college degree, increased 10.4 percent in Spring 2023 compared to Spring 2022 and increased 23.9 percent from 2021.

The full report is accessible online at http://www2.iccb.org/data/studies-reports/student-reports.

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