St. Joseph, Mo. — Missouri Western State University announced it has a record number of graduates enrolling this year even though enrollment overall is down.

Western’s official census as of Sept. 28 consisted of an enrollment of 5,571 students. 5,352 undergraduate students, and 219 graduate students.

After seven consecutive years of record enrollments and a growth of 27 percent between 2003 and 2011, the number of students has stabilized in recent years, and this year declined 6 percent. Dr. Jeanne Daffron, provost and vice president for academic affairs said enrollment management experts have seen challenges coming for years, and many other schools experienced declines earlier than Missouri Western did.

“We’ve long known that the number of graduating high school students has been declining in our region, and there’s a national decrease in the college-going rate for students straight out of high school,” Dr. Daffron said. “In addition, the improving economy means more potential students choose to enter the workforce rather than pursuing a degree.”

However, the graduate enrollment is a record for the school, surpassing the 210 students who were enrolled last spring, and a 19 percent increase over fall 2014.

“We are pleased to see the continued growth in our relatively young master’s degree programs, and that remains an opportunity for continued growth as we look to the future,” said Dr. Jeanne Daffron, provost and vice president for academic affairs. The Master of Science in Nursing and Master of Information Management programs in particular showed strong growth this fall, she said.