Enrollment is down by half over the last decade. Faculty say the school has failed to recruit and support the nontraditional students it has long served.
Amid undergraduate enrollment declines and harsh criticism from faculty members, Northeastern Illinois University struggles to keep supporting and educating Latino, Black and transfer students. Raising enrollment numbers was Gloria Gibson’s top priority when she became president of Northeastern Illinois University five years ago. “I have to be very clear in saying that our enrollment numbers are not good,” Gibson said in her first State of the University address. “They do not meet my expectations, especially as we look at our enrollments for first-year students.”