As Western Illinois University enters its 126th year, President Kristi Mindrup wants to focus on the institution’s future instead of dwelling on the recent past.
“Are we ready to let go of what we were, and to lift up where we are now, in order to evolve into what we will be?”
That’s what Mindrup asked the audience that gathered for the annual University Assembly on Friday morning.
At the end of the assembly, Mindrup put the question directly to those in attendance in the College of Fine Arts and Communication Recital Hall.
“Are we ready to evolve?” she asked. After a momentary pause, the audience responded with applause.
Mindrup said WIU enrolled 229 students and employed 16 faculty members when it opened in 1902. The university reached its all-time high enrollment of 15,469 students in 1973 when it employed 744 faculty members spanning six colleges.
In both cases, Mindrup said the university fulfilled its mission of educating students. She said it’s something WIU will continue to do.
“WIU will be successful at any size because of our people and our dedication to our mission,” Mindrup said.
The university has seen its enrollment drop, especially in recent years. A year ago, the administration announced a multitude of layoffs. But the university leadership says it’s creating a new vision for WIU.
A two-college system
One of the changes coming is a reorganization of academic schools.
Interim Provost Mark Mossman said the administration has worked on the rebuild with faculty representatives since early this year, and they agreed WIU would be best served by reducing the number of colleges from four to two.
He said the Faculty Senate voted on May 13 to approve the creation of two new colleges: The College of Humanities, Arts, Sciences, and Education, and the College of Business, Health, and Community Programs.
Those will replace the current colleges, which are Arts and Sciences, Business and Technology, Education and Human Services, and Fine Arts and Communication.
“The larger goals of this work remain the same: solidify who we are and what we are as a division, maximize stakeholder engagement, increase interdisciplinary across the institution, and reduce administrative costs,” Mossman said.
He said the reorganization could save WIU $800,000 to $1.2 million, though the figure has yet to be determined.
Mossman hopes the new structure will create new connections between faculty members in teaching and research.
He believes it will also provide new opportunities for students.
“In terms of new majors or new emphasis areas developed with all these different disciplines working together,” he told reporters after the assembly.
Mossman said work on creating the new two-college system will continue throughout the next year. He said the goal is to have it ready on July 1, 2026.
This year’s enrollment
Justin Schuch, Vice President for Student Success, said the overall projected enrollment for this fall is about 5,100 students between the campuses in Macomb and the Quad Cities and those taking classes online. He said the figure could change between now and the official headcount on the tenth day of the semester.
Last fall's enrollment was around 6,300.
Schuch said 1,450 of this fall’s students did not attend WIU last school year:
- 33% (around 480) are first-year students
- 30% are transfer students
- 26% are graduate students
- 11% are students who are re-entering WIU after attending the university earlier and leaving before completing their degree
He said around 1,300 students are signed up to live in the university’s residence halls.
After the assembly, TSPR asked Mindrup if WIU can maintain an enrollment of around 5,000 with a freshman class of that size.
“With new strategies that we’ll have in place, looking at data, working with experts, we are looking at expanding and changing some of our markets and so attracting new students to Western Illinois University is one strategy,” Mindrup said.
She said the administration also has “a number of other strategies” designed to keep students at WIU once they come, and she said they will develop a new strategic plan in the coming year.
Mindrup said WIU can be a great university even with 5,000 students.
“We can leverage the idea of 5,000 students to ensure that students understand that they’re not just a number at Western Illinois University, that they’ll have personalized attention,” Mindrup said.
She said the administration has made adjustments that will allow WIU to be sustainable with a lower enrollment.
The budget
Ketra Roselieb, Vice President for Finance and Administration, said her office will provide information about the current fiscal year budget during the WIU Board of Trustees meeting next month.
“We need to understand the financial impacts of the class we have recruited, what their ability to pay is, all those types of things,” she told TSPR.
“We’ll be working those out over the next two weeks and then presenting that in the September board meeting.”
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