The number of students at NIU has been shrinking for the past few years.

Kenneth Beasley, assistant to President John La Tourette, said the university is reducing enrollment to make NIU’s available resources equal to its students.

“The downsizing has actually been going on for four or five years,” Beasley said.

Lou Jean Moyer, associate provost, said the downsizing is due to continuing budget cuts and a decrease in the number of seats available in classes.

The university is aiming for fewer freshman and transfer students admitted each year, Moyer said.

“This fall appears on target for transfer students,” she said.

The final decision of how many students can enroll this year will depend on findings by the Office of Institutional Research, she said.

Nick Noe, director of the Office of Institutional Research, said the targeted range for Fall 1991 is 3050 to 3150 freshmen and 2,000 to 2,075 transfer students.

The research consists of different simulations of possible strategies for enrollment size, he said.

Before the university can plan for Fall 1992, it wants to see what happens in the fall and spring of 1991, he said.

Institutional Research is involved in projecting returning students as well as looking at the number of new students, he said.

The results will be presented to the higher administration for the final decision.