In 1992, a study was conducted on statewide enrollment trends and student characteristics in Illinois public community colleges. The study analyzed fall 1991 enrollments by college, full-/part-time status, sex, ethnic origin, age, student level, first-time/continuing student enrollment status, and program. Study findings included the following: (1) at the end of the fall 1991 registration period, the 50 Illinois public community colleges enrolled 368,475 students in instructional credit courses, constituting an increase of 4.4% over the fall 1990 term; (2) the number of female students increased at a higher rate than male students (5% versus 3.8%); (3) 41.9% of the student population were males; (4) the number and percentage of minority students increased slightly in 1991; (5) the median age of students was 26.9 years, while the mean age was 30.5; (6) fall 1991 freshman and sophomore enrollments increased by 3.2% and 7.6%, respectively, over fall 1990, while the number of high school students enrolled in community colleges decreased; (7) the proportion of transfer students increased slightly to 4.7%, while the proportion of first-time students decreased to 28.4%, the lowest level in five years; (8) of the 39.3% of students in the baccalaureate/transfer area, only 25% indicated an intention to transfer; and (9) nearly 40% of all students indicated that their intent was to improve occupational skills or prepare for a new career. (JMC)