MSU sets enrollment record

Enrollment for the fall semester is 20,962, according to an MSU news release. That’s a 221-student increase from last year, setting a new system enrollment record for the school.

The total comprises 19,464 students at MSU’s Springfield campus and 1,596 students at its West Plains campus; 98 students are enrolled at both and were counted only once in the final headcount.

Enrollment is up across the board. The number of out-of-state freshmen is up by more than 30 percent, from less than 180 last year to more than 260 this year. Enrollment of students from other countries is up 8.6 percent to 609, and 6.6 percent more minority students are enrolled for a total of 1,207.

This semester’s freshman class is the second largest since the school began implementing higher admission standards in 1995. The university received a record number of applications from first-time freshmen.

Today’s announcement marks MSU’s seventh enrollment increase in eight years.