Illinois community college enrollment increase reaches record high

CHICAGO, Ill. (WCIA) — The latest surge in community college enrollment across the state is the highest on record, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker announced on Tuesday.

The 2025 Spring enrollment at Illinois community colleges increased 8.9% from the previous year, according to Pritzker. This is the highest recorded increase from spring-to-spring since the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) began collecting enrollment statistics in the late 1990s.

Additionally, this is the third consecutive spring that community college enrollment has increased across Illinois.

“With the largest Spring-to-Spring enrollment increase and the third straight year of growth, our community colleges have not only bounced back from the pandemic – they are now stronger than ever thanks to our historic investments in education,” Pritzker said. “We are the home to the third largest community college system in the nation, and we want to continue seeing growth and opportunity for working families by making higher education more affordable and accessible for students across the state.”

In the FY26 Budget Address, Pritzker proposed a student-centered program to allow community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees. On top of this program, Pritzker is helping launch a direct admission program to streamline college admissions to public, postsecondary schools with the goal of saving money for Illinois residents.

Also, in the FY26 budget is a 3% increase in operating dollars for public universities and community colleges, and a $721.6 million appropriation for the Monetary Award Program (MAP). This money will be used to help students at, or below median income attend community college at no cost when their financial aid is paired with federal Pell Grants.

The 2025 Spring Enrollment Report shows the third spring-to-spring semester increase over the last six years and brings enrollment at in-state community colleges past pre-pandemic levels to over 283,000 students. Other findings from the report include the following:

• 40 out of 45 state community colleges experienced an increase in headcount enrollment from Spring 2024 to Spring 2025
• Dual Credit programs – allowing high school students to earn college credit – increased 19.8% and has increased 61.9% since Spring 2021
• Fix out of six instruction areas experienced an increase in headcount enrollment from 2024, including:
  • Transfer programs: the largest instructional area in the Illinois Community College System – up 8.9%
  • Career and Technical Education programs: increase of 7.6%
  • General Associates programs: 23.4% increase
  • Adult Education: serves students interested in basic skills, GED preparation and English proficiency – increase of 5%

“We know higher education is key to our future, which is why we’ve made historic investments to make education more accessible,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. “Now we’re seeing a return on our investment with community college enrollment surging. When education is more accessible and affordable, our entire state is stronger.”