The full-time-equivalent (FTE) enrollment in U.S. public higher education institutions in fiscal 2016 was 11,074,275, a decline of 0.8 percent compared with the 2015 FTE figure of 11,163,742, according to figures from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO).
Of the 10 states with the largest enrollments, seven of them experienced a decline in fiscal 2016. The most precipitous drop was in Illinois, which mired in a state budget stalemate for more than a year. Its full time enrollment in 2016 dropped by 10.9 percent compared with the previous year.
Here are the 10 states with the most students in public colleges and universities.
