Among last year's graduates, 89.1 percent said they would. That is the highest percentage since we introduced the survey in 1994, and it reflects a remarkable 18 percent improvement during the past six years. Anyone who has invested much time on the Western campus in recent years can list reasons for this significant progress. And still others are little known outside academic departments and colleges.
Good news spreads slowly, but it does spread.
That fact, clearly, offers one reason why this year's WIU student body will exceed 13,000 for the first time since 1992. It also explains why, despite Western's new and more rigorous admission standards, our freshman class will have increased for the sixth consecutive year. I am proud to be associated with a faculty, staff, and student body who have achieved so much in such a small amount of time. With your continued efforts, I am confident that Western will continue its splendid record of progress. Sincerely, Donald S. Spencer President Campus Connection is produced by the Office of University Relations at Western Illinois University .