Fall enrollment numbers are out for SIU-Carbondale and school officials are heralding the largest freshmen class in six years.
The class is welcoming 15-hundred-18 students to the Carbondale campus
Overall, enrollment is down 1.4% and comes in at 11,107.
School officials say the emphasis on adding more local students is paying off with an increase of 2.5% in new students from the region and a 3.5% increase of transfer students from the region.
Over 70% of last year’s freshmen returned to SIU, that's a slight decline over the previous two years.
This year, SIU instituted a robust First Year Experience program aimed specifically at assisting incoming students to adjust to academic, financial and student life.
Demographically, about 36% of the student body identify as a minority – and it's almost evenly divided among men and women.
