Fall-to-Spring Retention Increases After a Six-Year Decline
Western Illinois University's Spring 2026 numbers show the institution's headcount enrollment, which includes in-person and online, coming in slightly under 5,000 as of the 10th day of the new semester, according to document links provided through a Freedom of Information Act request.
While the total headcount for the Macomb and Quad Cities campuses for Spring 2026 is 4,735 compared to the Fall 2025 headcount of 5,337, the institution conferred 507 degrees to new graduates at the end of Fall 2025. In spite of the slight decrease noted for spring, student retention from Fall 2025-to-Spring 2026 reached nearly 80 percent, which means many of Western's students returned for the new semester, which halts a six-year decline in fall-to-spring retention, according to Vice President for Student Success Justin Schuch.
'Student retention efforts have been a significant focus throughout the division and University this past semester, and these gains should be celebrated,' he shared.
According to IRP data, of the 4,735 students enrolled this spring, 4,269 students are considered Macomb students, while 466 are considered Quad Cities students. Students attending in-person classes on the Macomb campus come in at 2,373, while 163 attend in-person at the Quad Cities campus. Macomb Extension students, those who primarily take their courses online, is 1,896, while the QC extension student tally is 303. The number of students living in residence halls on the Macomb campus total 955.
Spring 2025 enrollment, according to enrollment data available at wiu.edu/ irp, was 5,760.
Retention
The Fall 2025-to-Spring 2026 retention rate is 78.8 percent as of Feb. 3. During the fall semester, the University put a variety of intervention measures in place to ensure that students were successful and continued to stay enrolled. Schuch also added that the institution's fall-to-spring Reach student retention rose from 63.6 percent last year to 68.8 percent this year.
'We can credit the work of our programming teams and the new Purple and Gold Points program for helping get more students connected on campus. The number of events in Fall 2024 (319) compared to Fall 2025 (398) increased, and remarkably, the number of people attending events rose significantly at a time when enrollment went down,' he pointed out. 'In Fall 2024, 2,412 unique attendees swiped in 10,588 times, compared to Fall 2025, when 2,562 unique attendees swiped in 16,375 times. The Purple and Gold Points program has proven to be a successful endeavor.'
In addition, Schuch noted the institution's partnership with EdSights, which offers the RockyBot, also continues to assist the student experience, with 97 percent of Western's first-year students receiving updates and 65 percent actively responding and engaging with Rocky. The Health and Wellness teams have been finding new and creative ways to support students through various initiatives, leveraging grant funding and aligning services, he shared.
'The First Year Advising team continues to focus on the experience our conditionally admitted students have in the Reach program,' Schuch concluded. 'The Reach team has supported students and encouraged their academic and social success, and the numbers reflect the hard work of the team and students in the program.'
