SPRINGFIELD, IL (Chambana Today) – Illinois community colleges have experienced a record enrollment growth in the spring semester, with total enrollment reaching over 285,000 students, marking an 8.9% increase compared to last year. This is the largest spring-to-spring increase since the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) began tracking systemwide data in the late 1990s. Forty out of 45 community colleges in the state reported enrollment growth.
Notable increases were seen in dual credit programs, with nearly a 20% rise in high school students earning college credits. However, the most significant growth was in students pursuing general associate’s degrees, which rose by 23.4%.
Gov. JB Pritzker attributed this surge to historic investments in education, pointing to a 77% increase in funding for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants since 2019. The boost in state financial aid has helped make higher education more accessible, particularly for moderate-income students.
The enrollment growth is a continuation of the trend seen last fall, when community college enrollment increased by 7.4% compared to the previous year. Pritzker also proposed expanding community colleges’ role in the state’s higher education system by allowing them to offer four-year degrees in high-demand career fields.
The state’s support for community colleges has made higher education more affordable, with many students now able to attend tuition-free when combined with federal Pell grants and MAP funding.