Voice of The Southern: Seeing a silver lining in enrollment - the Southern

When it all shook out last week, SIU officials announced that enrollment for the fall 2016 semester was down 7.55 percent. While the number isn't what university officials would like, the news isn’t all bad. In fact, Interim Chancellor Brad Colwell said the university was prepared for the numbers. “The decline was budgeted for,” Colwell said in a story from last week. “This is absolutely not a surprise to us.” And, that’s good to hear. In fact, it’s music to our ears. Remember, it could have been worse. Eastern Illinois University in Charleston has seen its enrollment dip nearly 14 percent. At SIU, the official fall enrollment is 15,987 students, down from 17,292 last year. http://thesouthern.com/news/opinion/voice-of-the-southern/voice-of-the-southern-seeing-a-silver-lining-in-enrollment/article_9ac2dc4e-76e6-59a2-bd89-b14ea1d31e90.html