Southern Illinois University Carbondale may see a flat or slightly positive enrollment this fall - if current numbers hold through the end of the week.
University President Randy Dunn says it's still too early to know the official Fall 2014 enrollment number, but things are looking good so far: "Given everything we're seeing now, we're cautiously optimistic for Carbondale that we may be close to even enrollment from last year, maybe even up a handful of students."
Last fall's overall enrollment was 17,964 students. SIUC leaders say this year's freshman class is another big one - comparable to last year's large group. Dunn says in addition to the large number of incoming students, retention numbers are looking a bit better this year, too.
Official ten-day numbers will be released early next week.