West Virginia University officials are pleased to announce record opening day enrollment numbers for the fall semester.

The fall 2009 freshman class will settle around 4,600 students100 more students than originally projected. Overall enrollment for the fall 2009 semester is up by 235 students from last falls opening day count of 28,604.

A slight fall in undergraduate enrollmentdown by 100 students from last yearis counteracted by a 7 percentor 340 studentincrease in graduate enrollment.

We were pleased with a strong turnout at New Student Orientation sessions last week and the registration of returning students, which has helped us surpass last years record enrollment,said Brenda Thompson, associate vice president of Enrollment Management and Services.In addition, the growth in our graduate programs will help move us in the right direction as we prepare to grow our research enterprise.

She added,This recruitment cycle has been a roller coaster ride because of the economic situation our country is experiencing, so we are pleased thatin the endour students recognized the value of a WVU education and the vast opportunities that education will provide them.

Of the 28,839 students currently enrolled at WVU , 14,897 students are male and 13,942 students are female; 16,276 students are West Virginia residents and 12,563 students are non-residents; 21, 884 are enrolled in undergraduate programs, 5,488 in graduate and 1,467 in professional.