In 1990, a study was conducted on statewide enrollment trends and student characteristics in Illinois public community colleges. The study analyzed fall 1989 enrollments by college, full-/part-time status, sex, ethnic origin, age, student level, first-time/continuing enrollment status, and program. Study findings included the following: (1) at the end of the fall 1989 registration period, the 50 Illinois community colleges enrolled 341,733 students in instructional credit courses, representing an increase of 4.1% over fall 1988; (2) full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment was 174,437, representing a 4.9% increase in FTE students; (3) the proportion of full-time students enrolled during fall 1989 was 30.2%; (4) the number of male students increased at a higher rate than that of females (5.6% vs. 3%), bringing the percentage of males in the total student population to 42.5%--their highest representative in 5 years; (5) a comparison of fall 1988 and fall 1989 headcount enrollments revealed increases among Hispanics (by 19.3%), non-resident aliens (by 6.0%), Whites (by 4.1%), and Asian/Pacific Islanders (by 1.9%); (6) the median age of community college students was 26.9 years, and the mean age was 30.4 years; (7) freshman enrollments increased by 7.5% between 1988 and 1989, while sophomore enrollments decreased by 0.6%; and (8) although 38% of the students were enrolled in baccalaureate transfer programs, only 23.2% indicated that their intent was to transfer. (JMC)