The preliminary numbers are in and the campus of Missouri S&T is packed with students beginning the fall semester at the university. Classes started today, Monday, Aug. 24.

Student enrollment is 6,614, a nearly 6 percent increase over last year’s figure of 6,224, says registrar Laura Stoll. The Rolla campus has grown by more than 43 percent since the fall of 2000, when just over 4,600 attended classes.

“We are very excited about the quality and diversity of students Missouri S&T is attracting,” says Jay W. Goff, vice provost and dean for enrollment management. “Our new student class is one of the largest in Missouri S&T’s history and total student enrollment will be the largest since the university began using selective admission criteria more than 20 years ago.”

S&T’s new students come from 29 states and 10 foreign nations. This year’s freshman class has an average ACT score of 27.7, among the upper 10 percent in the nation. Five students have perfect ACT or SAT scores.

The numbers may be up, but maintaining them in the years ahead will be an ongoing challenge for the university as the number of high school graduates in the Midwest declines, Goff says.

“We are operating at full capacity this year,” says Warren K. Wray, provost and executive vice chancellor. “In the coming years, we will continue to reach out beyond the state and to under-represented groups to our enrollments strong.”

This year’s freshman class has 1,135 students and is 24 percent female. Among technological universities, S&T has one of the highest percentages of females enrolled in the nation.

One of S&T’s means of drawing quality female and minority students is its kindergarten through 12th grade outreach activities and the Center for Pre-College Programs. Currently the center supports more than 27 summer camps, including several specifically for these groups. Twenty-six percent of this year’s freshman reported attending at least one summer camp.

The official fall enrollment figures will be released after the fourth week of classes.