Two NIU colleges are experiencing significant changes in their student enrollment this semester as compared to the spring of 1987.

Enrollment in the College of Education increased by 11.8 percent, according to a report by Nick Noe, director of institutional research. This translates into an increase of 354 students on the undergraduate and graduate levels combined.

“It is hard to know why this happens,” Robert Karabinus, assistant dean of the College of Education, said.

One possibility could be undergraduates are discovering job opportunities in education that were not available before, he said.

A reason for the enrollment increase on the graduate level might stem from people seeking graduate degrees to fill positions vacated by retiring administrators, Karabinus said.

The College of Business suffered a 3.6 percent loss (220 students) in total enrollment from a year ago. This is the largest loss of students by a single college.

Wilma Stricklin, associate dean of the College of Business, said a reason for the loss could be the fact that students are not accepted until their junior year. This might account for the 4.7 percent loss in undergraduate enrollment, she said.

Of the students who enroll in the College of Business, Stricklin said about one third are eventually admitted. Another third remain at NIU and seek other majors, and the final third work with advisers to enter the college.

“The first 2,100 students (of the 5,957 students currently enrolled in the College of Business) are the juniors and seniors that we accept each year. This has stayed stable across the two years (1987 and 1988),” Stricklin said.

Stricklin said most of the classes pre-business majors take are in general education. “Pre-business puts a heavy burden on the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the juniors and seniors (enrolled in the College of Business) put the burden on our college,” she said.

Both Stricklin and Karabinus said future higher education budget cuts will affect the enrollment of their colleges.

“If budgetary shrinkage hits any harder, then we will have to reduce the number of students admitted (to the College of Business). We are using every dollar and every hour of faculty resources to service (the students) at this level,” Stricklin said.

Stricklin said budget cuts would have to go deep to disable programs at the higher course level. “We have to keep offering programs to juniors and seniors,” she said.

Karabinus said the education enrollment at the undergraduate level is “just beginning to blossom,” and the budget cuts should not affect it.