NIU President Baker said enrollment is down by 527 students — or 2.5 percent — from fall 2013, which would make enrollment 20,611 students.

The university had budgeted a drop of up to 700 students worth about $8 million in revenue. NIU has seen enrollment drop steadily since 2009, when enrollment was 24,424. 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’ve lost 5,000 students in a decade … that’s a lot,” Baker told University Council.

Despite the drop, international student enrollment has increased  from 847 to 1,090 and freshman retention is up five points to 71 percent, its highest point in three years, according to the university.

Baker has targeted retention and enrollment since coming to NIU in July 2013. His administration has created the Master Plan Thesis 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.

Baker also led the Spring Bold Future workshops, which brought students, faculty and community members together to discuss how to improve the university.

Universities across the state have reported enrollment drops in recent years, but U of I reported a gain in fall 2013 and Southern Illinois University’s enrollment rose by 25 students this fall, marking the university’s first rise in enrollment in about 10 years.

Baker made the announcement at a Wednesday University Council meeting.