DeKALB — Total enrollment at NIU has decreased by 3.6% compared to the Fall 2021 semester. Enrollment for Fall 2022 is 15,649 students.

Undergraduate and graduate enrollment decreased overall, which NIU said is thought to be due to pandemic-related issues including declines in community college students, stress and a strong job market, which may have encouraged some students to put a pause on their education.

New transfers saw a 16.1% decrease; going from 1,492 in Fall 2021 to 1,252 students for Fall 2022.

The number of total undergraduate students saw a 3.4% decrease and total graduate students saw a 4.2% decrease when compared to Fall 2021.

Total law students overall saw a decrease of 2.8%, while new law students saw an increase of 2.6%.

New masters and professional degree students saw an increase of 0.8% and new doctoral students saw an increase of 2.7%

NIU’s fall enrollment saw a 7% increase, as freshman enrollment increased to 2,440 students compared to 2,285 in Fall 2021, making it the largest freshman class since 2014. Additionally, the average high school GPA for freshmen this fall is 3.42; in Fall 2021 it sat at 3.34. Over half of the new freshmen are first-generation college students at 56%.

Number of Chinese students at NIU in Fall 2021 was at 90 total, 13 being new students. This fall the number is at 80, with 21 being new students to NIU. Total enrollment of international students came out to 966 students, a 30% increase from last fall.

Part-time students saw a drop from 4,345 in 2021 to 3,741 this fall, while full-time students increased from 11,889 to 11,908.

This fall is the highest occupancy, according to NIU Housing and Residential Services, since 2015, with 3,973 students.