BEMIDJI, Minn. (October 6, 2010) — Bemidji State University’s 30th day enrollment numbers are in, and they show the University with its largest total enrollment in nearly two decades.

Bemidji State’s total 30th day enrollment headcount is 5,365 students, an increase of 3.8 percent over the Fall 2009 30th day headcount of 5,171. That figure has the University on pace to see its largest number of students on campus since 1991. That year, final enrollment was 5,393.

The 5,365 students include 4,932 undergraduate students, a 4.4 percent increase over a year ago, and 433 graduate students. BSU’s graduate population declined slightly, down from 445 a year ago.

Fuelling Bemidji State’s enrollment increase is another sizeable group of freshmen and new transfer students. The University welcomed in 864 new freshmen this year, an 8.8 percent increase from last year, and has 320 new transfer students, an increase of 4.9 percent.

Over the last five years, freshman enrollment at Bemidji State is up nearly 33 percent; BSU had 651 new freshmen enrolled in 2006.

BSU’s enrollment number will fluctuate throughout the fall as students enroll for distance learning options.

Credit generation, which plays a more critical role in the University’s budget than headcount, is also up significantly. The 5,365 students currently on campus have enrolled for a total of 66,212 credits, a 5.2-percent increase over last year at this time.

Bemidji State is announcing enrollment figures on the 30th day of classes this year to coincide with official system-wide enrollment numbers released by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Reporting on the 30th day allows sufficient time for students to drop or add courses and to pay tuition.

Headcount reflects an unduplicated number of students enrolled in credit-generating courses on campus and through external study areas such as distance learning.