SIU students are back in Carbondale starting this weekend, as classes begin for the fall of 2013 on Monday.
While official enrollment numbers won't be released until a few weeks into the semester, Chancellor Rita Cheng says right now it appears the total will be down about 300 students from this time last year.
"Declines in enrollment from 2008-09 and 2009-10 are still with us. So what that means is that we have another year to be patient, overall. But it also means that the uptick in freshman this year will stay with us, as a positive sign, for many years to come."
Cheng says while overall enrollment may be down, the Freshman class has roughly 2,600 students - which is the most in more than a decade.
She says other core areas are seeing increases as well, including graduate students and international students.
SIU administrators say the large freshman class is a double-edged sword: a very large class means a housing crunch as students arrive for the 2013-2014 school year.
Cheng says because freshmen are required to live on campus, there are some overcrowding issues. But she says rumors of major problems finding space are not true:
"Any student who had a contract before July 1 is in their space as they requested. Any contracts after July 1 we've worked individually with students. Any room that's become available has been changed to a double."
Cheng says students who are being put into temporary overflow housing will likely be in their permanent space within a few weeks. She says those students are getting a break on their residence hall fees.
Cheng says small classes moving through the upper levels will soon be filtering out, and they are working to maintain retention levels as well as boost the number of new students on campus.
