Schools
86 Freshmen Enrolled at Chicago State University; How Bright Is School's Future?
The 150-year-old school also is struggling with financial problems.
CHICAGO, IL — With a freshmen class of only 86 students, Chicago State University is struggling to survive in its current form, according to an in-depth report by the Chicago Tribune's Dawn Rhodes.
The university saw a 25 percent decrease in overall enrollment and a 32 percent drop in undergraduate enrollment since last year, the biggest decline of any Illinois public university, the report stated. Currently, 3,578 students are martriculating at CSU this fall, including 2,352 undergrads and 1,226 grad students, the report added.
Chicago State's trend of decreasing enrollment has been going on for six years, and the school has seen its graduation rate fall from 13 to 21 percent to 11 percent, the report stated.
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RELATED: Hundreds of Chicago State University Employees Laid Off
The university's enrollment woes are coupled with its financial troubles, some which have come thanks to going months without state funding as the General Assembly battles over the budget. According to the Tribune, CSU's money problems include:
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- declaring a financial emergency that required the school to lay off 40 percent of its employees and cut programs and services
- being threatened with losing its accreditation because of its economic difficulties
- agreeing to pay Thomas Calhoun Jr. a $600,000 severance package this month so he would immediately resign from his post as president after only being on the job nine months.
"I'm having a hard time seeing the future for Chicago State University," Adrian Mercado, a junior and residence hall leader, said at a recent trustee board meeting, according to the Tribune. "How do I talk to my residents and the people that come to me for help all the time about the future of Chicago State University?"
Officials claim the decline in enrollment was expected, and the 150-year-old university plans to rebuild its student body in 2017, the report stated.
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