As the fall semester begins, Missouri Western State University is reporting an increase in freshman class and transfer student enrollment.

According to a press release, the class is almost four percent larger than the class from a year ago.

“An increased freshman class is a very encouraging sign for our enrollment going forward,” Dr. Paul Orscheln, associate vice president for enrollment management said. “As has been the case in recent years, the incoming freshmen appear to be well prepared academically. We also are drawing from a wider area, with increases in the numbers of freshmen from Iowa, Illinois and St. Louis.”

Preliminary enrollment data indicates a freshman class of about 900 students, a 3.9 percent increase over last year. Missouri Western is also seeing significant increases in new transfer students (up 20 percent) and new graduate students (up 23 percent). Also encouraging, Dr. Orscheln said, is that Missouri Western once again expects to meet its freshman-to-sophomore retention goal.

Enrollment numbers will be finalized after the official census date four weeks into the semester. Last year’s total enrollment was 5,571 students.

Missouri Western students begin classes today.