NIU President Doug Baker will push for a rise in retention between the fall and spring semesters as the university copes with a 527-student decline in enrollment from fall 2013 to this semester.

Enrollment has fallen to 20,611 from last fall’s 21,138, a 2.5 percent drop. NIU’s enrollment has dropped steadily since fall 2009, when 24,424 students attended the university. Baker attributed the decline in part to graduating classes that are larger than incoming classes.

“If we had … the same incoming class as we did last year, we would still have been down 400 students,” Baker said. “… We had a large senior class graduate. So, it looks like we’re turning the corner on the incoming students and it’ll take a little bit of time for those bigger classes to work out and us to rebuild the bigger classes at the front end with transfers, freshmen and graduate students.”

This fall’s enrollment decline is the smallest NIU has had in five years, but the university also saw a 5.5 percent decrease to 2,542 in freshmen after two years of increases in that area, according to a university news release. New transfer enrollment also dropped 2.2 percent to 1,840, according to NIU.

“We started a number of programs last year on that and I think that’s going to bear fruit as we go forward,” Baker said. “We’re trying to increase both our awareness and ease of transfer for students. We’ve been out visiting many more community colleges, reaching out to their leadership as well as their students, faculty and staff.”

The university did see a rise in international student enrollment, which went from 847 students last fall to 1,090.

Retention, recruitment

Baker has targeted improving retention since starting at the university in July 2013. Freshman retention was 66 percent in fall 2013, but that rose to 71 percent this semester, marking its highest point in three years after a 15-year decline, according to NIU. Baker’s administration has set a goal to see retention between the fall and spring rise to 95 percent from the traditional 90 percent.

“To move up 5 percent in retention in one year is dramatic and the outcome of a lot of hard work of faculty and staff across the institution, so I just very much appreciate their hard work,” Baker said. “And that work happened in a relatively short period of time, so I’m optimistic we can continue to improve our retention rates and help students be successful at NIU, and that is going to help us fulfill our mission and help students succeed in their lives and careers.”

Baker’s administration created the Master Plan Thesis during the 2013-14 academic year in an effort to revitalize the campus to attract and keep students. The plan includes the deconstruction of Douglas Hall to extend Lucinda Avenue and the transformation of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commons to make the campus more pedestrian-friendly.

Community members were also invited to fall and spring Bold Futures Workshops to discuss ideas for changing the campus. Baker said more than 1,000 students were interviewed about issues they thought affected retention during spring Bold Futures Workshops.

“A lot of that deals with being more integrated and socially attached to the institution, and so you saw changes from day one here, before day one. The move-in I thought was very efficient, effective this year,” Baker said.

Welcome Days — a week of events to introduce students to campus resources — was changed to bring in more activities and family events, Baker said. He said first-year faculty have met to “discuss what they can do to provide more contact with students, more resources for students,” among other things the university has done to improve student engagement to raise retention.

University departments are also learning how to interact with students earlier and NIU is re-examining its financial aid packages to better help students, Baker said.

The university will also reach out to community colleges and high schools to recruit students. Baker has worked on building stronger relationships with area community colleges and has signed reverse transfer agreements with six of them — including the College of Lake County Friday — to make it easier for transfer students to receive associate’s degrees.

International students

Despite the drop in total enrollment, international student enrollment has increased from 847 to 1,090, with about 200 of those students enrolled in graduate school.

Baker pushed for increased international enrollment during the 2013-14 academic year and created a vice president of International Affairs in October, moving former provost Ray Alden to that position.

“We expanded the international affairs office, started working on developing relationships overseas, and I’m proud to say in the short time they’ve been in place, in this expanded role, it looks like we’re up 240 international students this fall,” Baker said. “I think that’s good progress in a short period of time and we look forward to that trend continuing.”

Editor in Chief Kelly Bauer, Campus Editor Jackie Nevarez and Day Editor Keith Hernandez contributed to this article.

Student Breakdown