NIU’s enrollment has increased measurably from one year ago, despite a drop in the number of new freshmen and transfers, NIU Provost Kendall Baker said Friday.

Preliminary figures for the spring semester show total campus enrollment, including all continuing students, new freshmen, and transfers, at 21,155 students. This is an increase of more than 200 students from spring 1987.

“The reason for this is a very strong fall enrollment,” Baker said. He said NIU is trying to limit the number of freshmen and transfer students because of higher enrollments in the fall term and less resources because of budget cuts.

“We have more transfer students meeting the requirements than we anticipated,” Baker said. Students transferring from community colleges are required to have an associates’ degree to enter NIU.

The total number of freshmen and transfer students enrolled at NIU fell from 853 students in spring 1987 to 565 students this semester, Baker said. These numbers reflect enrollment after the first week of classes.

“We have already decided to reduce the undergraduate enrollment by 1000 students in the next five years,” he said. Baker said this change will be made by “accepting those students with the strongest records.”

Edward Keeley, research associate, said the number of incoming freshmen accepted in fall 1987 was a 4.5 percent increase from fall 1986. “These are the numbers we accept, but the show rate (number of students accepted that actually enroll) is only about 40 to 45 percent (of the 4.5 percent increase),” he said.

Keeley said 8,341 students were accepted by NIU in fall 1987. The freshmen class numbered 3,600 students at the end of that semester. The fall 1988 freshmen class will be limited to 3,300 students.

“In order to meet our target enrollment, we have to admit more students than we plan to enroll,” Baker said. “But what is important is that our total enrollment is still quite high.”

NIU Admissions Director Dan Oborn said the admissions policy committee plans to review a new program requiring students applying to NIU to fulfill 10 course units in various high school subjects.

This policy would require three years of English, two years each of math, science, and social science and one year of humanities. An additional year is recommended in each case, Oborn said.

Jon Dalton, vice president for student affairs, said the decision to limit enrollment is intended “to bring enrollment to a size that better fits the resources we have.”

“It seems to have support from the faculty and students,” he said.