DeKALB | NIU has seen a decrease of over 800 students compared to the 2017 spring semester.

The spring 2018 semester total enrollment, which consists of undergraduate, graduate and transfer students, is 16,673 students compared to 17,497 for spring 2017.

Sol Jensen, Enrollment Management, Marketing, and Communications vice president, said the 5.1 percent drop in student enrollment from the fall 2017semester was expected, according to a Feb. 1 NIU press release.

“So, these numbers are actually slightly better than anticipated,” Jensen said in the press release.

Enrollment for students living on-campus are down, but law students and off-campus students have increased by 3 percent.

Retention rates among freshmen remained in line with previous years, remaining at the same 88 percent it has been at since 2015. Transfer student retention rates have also remained steadfast since 2015, staying at 90 percent.

“The strength of those numbers is very encouraging as they demonstrate that students who choose NIU are continuing to find value here and connecting with the university,” Jensen said.