Press release from Appalachian State University:

BOONE — The numbers won’t be official until late October, but enrollment at Appalachian State University has exceeded 18,000 for the 2014-15 academic year.

Preliminary data indicate 18,026 students are enrolled for fall semester, up from 17,838 in fall 2013.

“Enrolling more than 18,000 students is a first at Appalachian,” said Susan Davies, associate vice chancellor for enrollment management. “We also met all of our targets for undergraduate and graduate enrollment, both on the main campus and in distance education.”

Enrollment on the main campus totals 15,634 undergraduates and 1,002 graduate students.

The university’s diverse student enrollment, for which race is known, is 2,265, representing a 4.9 percent increase from last fall. Last year’s total minority enrollment was 2,160.

Undergraduate enrollment in the university’s distance education programs totals 707 students, with 803 students enrolled in graduate programs.

Freshman enrollment totals 3,033, up from 2,883 last year, while main campus transfer enrollment is 1,148 students, up from 1,115 on the main campus last year.

Davies said the freshman-to-sophomore retention rate remains around 88 percent. She said the university’s six-year graduation rate had increased to 69.6 percent, up from 68.5 percent.

“This shows we continue to recruit students who can be successful at Appalachian, and once they arrive on campus they find our academics and co-curricular experiences encourage them to stay and graduate,” she said.