The 'enrollment cliff' … that is, colleges and universities vying much harder against each other for far fewer prospective students … is here and here to stay for several years; however, Western Illinois University's new assistant vice president of recruitment and enrollment is working hard in his first year to keep the car from going over the cliff, Thelma and Louise-style.
Rich Toomey, who has been in admissions, recruitment and enrollment in public higher education for over 33 years, joined Western's leadership in October and has been working hard to get the rural west central Illinois' 125+-year-old institution its share of students. From his first job as an admissions counselor at University of Massachusetts- Amherst to his lengthy career at Indiana State, Toomey has worked to draw students to college. Now at WIU, he's putting his tenured skills to the test to boost enrollment.
'I'm a big believer in the mission of public higher education and educating future citizens,' Toomey said. 'This is my happy place, and I came to Macomb because I wanted to continue living in a college town and the community of Macomb and WIU spoke to me. It has a good vibe and there is a great opportunity to do a lot here.'
Toomey's job is primarily recruitment, leading a diverse team of admissions counselors who hit the road to recruit students throughout the region, the state and the broader Midwest, as well as to meet with prospective students and their families on campus and host on-campus and on-the-road events, along with other staff members working behind the scenes to keep processes moving along. In short, his office is Western's 'brand ambassador.'
Western's Fall 2025 enrollment was 5,337, nearly 1,000 less than Fall 2024 and almost 2,000 less than the fall semester before. Spring 2026 total enrollment dipped below 5,000 after a fairly large number of students graduated at the end of the Fall '25 semester. Eleven years ago, in 2015, WIU's enrollment topped 11,000. What are Toomey's plans to get more students enrolled at the storied institution that has called Macomb home since it opened its doors on Sept. 23, 1902? Lots of work with processes and experiences, he told The Community News Brief.
'At Thursday's Board of Trustees meeting, I introduced the development of a student recruitment strategic plan, that is addressing the things we have control over,' Toomey explained. 'I compare it to the lighting in a theater. You have control over the levers to adjust the lighting and you adjust the levers to get just the right setting. We basically have four levers, things that we can control. Those four levers we can control are marketing and branding, scholarships, our processes and our services,” he added. “There’s not a silver bullet, but there are things we can do to make Western stand out.”
The enrollment cliff, the demographic cliff, is a reality. First, we heard it's going to at least impact higher education through at least 2037. Now with everything going on at the federal level and the economy, it's going to persist through at least 2051.
'We have to work within that, we can't change it.”
At this point, Toomey noted that the institution is currently trending up in the number of students applying and being accepted; however, the true numbers will be revealed around June when students begin signing up for orientation events. Housing and financial aid information decisions were just sent out, he shared, but most students don't make firm decisions until mid-summer.
One of the levers was recently adjusted to ensure greater access: scholarships. For the 2026-2027 academic year, Western has adjusted its scholarship funding for new freshman and transfers, including incentives for local students ('Local Leatherneck') and children/grandchildren of alumni, along with those tied to GPAs.
'Those students who have a 3.5 and higher GPA have a lot more opportunities for scholarships at a lot of colleges and universities. We have to remain competitive,' Toomey shared.
His long-term plans for the institution include working more closely with military bases. He has staff dedicated to visiting bases close by, such as Great Lakes Naval Base in Chicago, as well as in St. Louis and others throughout the Midwest.
'The Community College of the Air Force is the largest community college in the U.S. It's designed for activeduty personnel across the branches. We need to look at articulation agreements with this institution, as well as for those who are military-affiliated, not just veterans, but the children, spouses, grandchildren of active-duty members and veterans,' he added.
There are also new staff members who are dedicated to building a reputation in other parts of the world. In recent years, the institution recruited mostly from Caribbean nations and a few in Africa. Toomey wants to broaden Western's scope around the globe, as well as at home with transfer and adult learners, as well as a renewed focus upon local recruitment.
'In the short term, if we are one person bigger in Fall 2026, that's great. One thousand more students won't happen in one year. We have to build our brand, and that is going to take some time,' he stressed. 'We'll be more intentional in our content and our messaging and we have to help guide students and parents through the process.
How is the experience for our prospective students and their families? How can we make it better? We do a great job communicating with students, but we need to do more with parents as they are invested in their child's education. Recent studies indicate it can take on average 27 points of contact for a student to decide where they're going to go to school.'
Toomey also acknowledged the rising cost of higher education, and the need to showcase the return on investment. Schools like WIU have to demonstrate the value, and what's in it for the students. That's also something a current state rep and a former state rep who is now with Illinois Policy is pushing through a proposed bill, House Bill 5037. The bill would encourage a third party or the Illinois Board of Higher Education to conduct an in-depth study of Illinois' state universities to 'help lawmakers identify where enrollment numbers cannot justify inflated costs, where consolidation or specialization makes sense, and how to protect students, taxpayers and the state’s long-term economic goals without needlessly pumping more funding into the system.'
As far as service and processes, he's doing a deep dive into what Western does well and what could be improved upon. For processes, how are things getting done? What's the turnaround time getting back to a student or a parent? Is the university doing what it needs to do to ensure things are handled efficiently?
On the service side, are they building relationships with prospective students and their families, and maintaining them when they get to campus? Part of that deep dive includes engaging his own high school senior daughter coming in to document the steps and the experiences she has with each of the required steps, and in Toomey's words, to be 'brutally honest' about what worked and what didn't.
'We have to be more thoughtful in how we communicate, and we have to understand what is working and what is not,' he added.
Thus far, the institution has hosted three Discover Western events in the fall, and one already this spring, with two more scheduled. In addition, departments, colleges and schools are hosting their own recruitment events at home and on the road, meeting individually with students and families, and admissions continues to host almost daily tours and recruitment events on campus.
Toomey also wants to spread the message – something he just did speaking at Macomb's Noon Rotary Club – that recruitment is shared responsibility, and one that's not just limited to WIU employees.
'The local business owner who talks smack about the university, the resident who dismisses the institution and the town, what good does that do any of us,' he asked. 'We know Western doesn’t look like it used it, and it most likely will not. We need to focus on what we can be, how we can grow and where we'll go, what it means for the next generation, and that takes all of us, welcoming prospective students and their families, welcoming new students to our community. Creating a positive experience.'
As reported in The Community News Brief regarding Fall 2025 enrollment, getting students here is one thing, keeping them here is another. Western has put a variety of new programs in place to assist with retention, and according to Spring 2026 numbers, 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-tospring retention, Vice President for Student Success Justin Schuch told the Brief.
Retention & Early Intervention
To ensure that students are successful and continue to stay enrolled, Schuch noted through some adjustments in staffing, former Honors College Dean and Health Sciences Professor Lorette Oden was named the vice president of student belonging and community outreach to help students remain engaged with the institution and to provide early intervention efforts.
'We're bringing back programs that allow us to reach out to more students. For example, we've enhanced our proactive and reactive chatbot, Rocky Bot, which is available 24/7/365. It's a direct line for students to ask questions and receive support,' he shared. 'Besides students reaching out to RockyBot, the chat bot reaches out to students to inquire about four general areas: academics, finances, general well-being and engagement. We get that information and data so if a student is struggling or needs extra help, a person will follow-up to ensure they get what they need. We're reinvesting in that as we are able to intervene early when they need assistance.'
According to Schuch, first-year advising remains a priority, as does WIU's Connections early intervention program, which has been successful in helping student support staff reach students early on who need assistance. In addition, the Academic Verification Roster that's in place makes sure that the students have started classes to ensure they're not only getting their financial aid, but also to make sure they do not fall behind right away. It's an immediate catch at the start of the semester and if someone isn't attending class, University staff can reach out to find out why.
'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,' he pointed out. '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 '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.'
WIU Undergraduate Admissions Facebook
