Eastern lost 877 students from the fall semester to the spring semester.

Tenth-day enrollment numbers were released for the spring semester, and Eastern’s enrollment is at 11,302 students.

There were 12,179 students enrolled for the fall semester – the second highest figure in Eastern’s history.

The difference comes from students graduating in December and a minority of students being dismissed from school for academic reasons, or choosing not to come back because of financial reasons, said Brenda Majors, director of the office of admissions.

She added the difference between the two enrollment numbers is typical for Eastern.

“There is no cause in alarm for that at all,” Majors said.

Although the number have dipped, the official enrollment numbers for the academic year are the fall numbers.

Majors said the fall numbers are the official ones because the state of Illinois looks at those numbers, and fall enrollment numbers also influences net tuition revenue.

“It has a direct impact on our operating budget,” she said. “That number does have an impact on what we are able to do financially for those students that year.”

Majors did not know how many students graduated in December, but said 408 transfer students and 34 new freshmen enrolled for the spring semester.

Last spring, 307 transfer students and 30 new freshmen enrolled.

She said Eastern is seeing an increase in freshmen at mid-year enrollment because more and more freshmen are graduating high school in the fall.

Transfer student enrollment at mid-year is mostly attributed to the student being ready academically and financially for college, she added.

“Many of these transfer students, actually, may have applied as freshmen, and weren’t academically prepared.what we do in our transfer relations wing of admissions is to keep of with those students,” Majors said. “To keep building that relationship.”

She added the office also does not focus on recruitment as much for mid-year enrollment because of a variety of reasons.

“Most students are staring fall,” Majors said. “Our orientation programs are enhanced to accommodate the significantly larger numbers of students starting fall.”

There is a shorter break from the end of the fall semester to the start of the spring semester compared to the end of the spring semester to the start of the fall semester as well, she added.

“It doesn’t allow us to do as much of an orientation or Prowl activities as a new freshman would typically need,” Majors said.

Stephen Di Benedetto can be reached at 581-7942 or at sdibenedetto@eiu.edu.