Enrollment in the College of Education is mostly steady this fall and, in some areas, beating averages.
Rising numbers were recorded in 10 undergraduate programs and 18 graduate programs, including a 108% growth in the Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction (with a specialty in Curriculum Leadership) thanks to a contract cohort of 27 students from Harper College.
Meanwhile, the Department of Special and Early Education’s Licensed Educator Accelerated Pathway (LEAP) program contributed to an 18.9% jump in the B.S. in Early Childhood Education.
Although the college’s overall headcount is down by 10 from last year, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs David Walker sees plenty of reasons for encouragement.
“What excites me is that this is a very competitive environment for higher education in Illinois, and the college is were very stable. We did well,” Walker said.
“Our new transfer students were at 194 this fall, and our five-year average is 179,” he added. “One of the major reasons we’re doing so well with new transfer students is that we currently have 25 ‘2+2’ agreements. We work hard on those partnerships, and they’re very rewarding. We’re adding new opportunities every semester.”
He currently is negotiating new 2+2 deals with Richland Community College and McHenry County College to provide more seamless transfer pathways into College of Education majors.
The college’s PLEDGE-Partnering to Lead and Empower District-Grown Educators program, which includes LEAP, is part of that.
Launched in 2019, PLEDGE already has produced 53 graduates of the B.S.Ed. in Elementary Education major who completed NIU-delivered coursework exclusively at Elgin Community College. Now, the college has replicated that model at Elgin for Early Childhood majors.
Conversations with Rock Valley College regarding a LEAP cohort there are aiming at a Fall 2024 start, a move expected to produce positive totals in next year’s ledger.
“We feel these will pay large dividends in terms of enrollment enhancement,” Walker said, “and also just helping the profession and its dearth of teachers.”
New freshman numbered 172 this fall, topping the five-year average of 169.
Graduate programs, meanwhile, added 311 students, far beyond the five-year average of 245. Enrollment in the M.S.Ed. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling swelled by 37.8%, which “can be attributed to the leadership in the Department of Counseling and Higher Education adding another cohort and recruiting.”
Other graduate degrees with impressive gains are the M.S.Ed. in Literacy Education, the Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration, the M.S. in Sport Management and the Ed.S. in Educational Administration.
“Because we really increased our new transfer numbers and our new graduate student numbers, we feel really good about those areas going into the future. We brought in big classes,” Walker said. “And, when we bring in new transfers and new graduate students, we retain them at about 90% historically. That’s very, very high, and we’re excited about that.”
Contributing to the college’s viability, he said, is the work of Office for Student Success and the smorgasbord of minors opened in recent years to students across campus.
“Alex Owens, the new assistant director of the Office for Student Success, will be taking over recruitment, retention and persistence to graduation,” Walker said. “She has been with us for the last month and has hit the ground running, working with undergraduate and graduate programs per short-term and long-term recruitment and retention strategies, so we’re looking for continued improvements in both areas.”
Minors, meanwhile, are “pretty robust and healthy in areas that NIU students want to take on for extra study.”
“That’s an area we’ve pushed pretty hard on, and that surely has paid off with about a dozen new minors within the last five to six years,” he said. “Over time, that really helps our portfolio with credential-stacking and offers students more opportunities for teaching and learning and for marketability.”
