The

s enrollment has soared above 100,000 this fall, a record high and a 3.5 percent increase over last fall, according to the system's annual October headcount.

Most of that increase, however, was in retaining students already in the system. The number of incoming freshmen actually declined by 271. An increase of 456 transfer students, most from community colleges, produced an increase of 185 newly admitted undergraduates.

The university system has grown by 24 percent since fall of 2006, the largest five-year growth spurt in 40 years. That jump is in part because of larger high school classes, the recession and high unemployment, university officials said.

Incoming freshmen are down slightly because last spring's class of high school graduates was smaller and more graduates chose to start at community colleges, said Bob Kieran, assistant vice chancellor for research.

Graduate student enrollment also was down by 2.3 percent to 16,190 students. The enrollment total also includes 6,248 high school students taking college courses for dual enrollment, a 9.6 percent increase over last year.

The increase in both enrollment and retention is important in moving the state toward its 40-40-20 goal, said

chancellor of the system. The goal calls for 40 percent of Oregon adults to have a college degree, 40 percent an associate degree or other post-secondary credential and 20 percent a high school diploma by 2025.

The system generally benefits from growth, but university officials also worry about it pushing up class sizes and professor loads and squeezing space, Pernsteiner said.

"We worry about the quality of education when we start to push those boundaries," he said. "All campuses hired more faculty last year. Whether they hired enough, I don't know yet...The

and Oregon State University have joined Portland State University in being sort of out of room."

The Oregon Student Association, which represents students from all the universities, remains concerned about keeping costs under control as the system grows, said Emily McLain, Executive Director.

"It is going to be a strain on the university system," she said, "and we want more and more Oregonians to have more and more access to affordable education."

The association is also monitoring the proportion of students from out of state as it inches up. This fall 26 percent of all are undergraduates are from out of state, up from 19 percent five years ago.

Still, the number of resident students continues to climb, Kieran said.

"I have not heard of any institution turning down a qualified Oregonian who met its admission standards," he said. Enrollment climbed at six campuses, but dropped by 16 students at

Western's full-time equivalent student count climbed, though, meaning students are taking more credit, said David McDonald, associate provost, of Western Oregon University.

"We were surprised the enrollment wasn't a little stronger," he said. "We're looking at who didn't come. We've grown by 30 percent over the last four years. Getting a little pause for a year is not a bad thing."

saw the biggest growth, a 5.3 percent jump of 1,302 students.

grew by only 1.5 percent, but remains the state's largest university with 28,958 students.

The university system has grown by 24 percent since fall of 2006, the largest five-year growth spurt in 40 years. That jump is in part because of larger high school classes, the recession and high unemployment, university officials said.

Among other finding in the fall count:

– International student enrollment climbed by 12 percent to an all-time high of 6,387 students. Much of that growth was due to an additional 526 Chinese students.

– The full-time equivalent enrollment increased by 2.8 percent to 82,309 students.

– The percentage of U.S. students in the system who report their race or ethnicity as other than white climbed from 20 percent last fall to 22 percent. That increase included enrollment jumps of 20 percent for Latinos, 7 percent for Native Americans and 2 percent for African Americans.

– Enrollment has climbed 36 percent over the last decade compared to a national average increase of 23 percent at public four-year universities.

– Retention of first-time freshmen remained at 82 percent, about the same as last fall.

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