This study was conducted on statewide enrollment trends and student characteristics in Illinois public community colleges. The study analyzed fall 1990 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 1990 registration period, the 50 Illinois community colleges enrolled 352,898 students in instructional credit courses, representing an increase of 3.3% over the fall 1989 term; (5) the number of female students increased at a higher rate than male students (4% vs 2.5%); (6) 42.2% of the student population were males; (7) the number and percentage of minority students increased slightly in 1990; (8) the median age of students was 26.8 years, while the mean age was 30.4; (9) fall 1990 freshman and sophomore enrollments increased by 3.8% and 9.7%, respectively, over fall 1989, while the number of high school students enrolled in community colleges dropped; (10) the proportion of transfer students remained stable at 4.2%, while the proportion of first-time students decreased to the lowest level in 5 years; (11) of the 39% of students in the baccalaureate/transfer area, only 24.2% indicated an intention to transfer; and (12) nearly 28% of all students indicated that their intent was to improve occupational skills or prepare for a new career. (PAA)