As of Tuesday, 2,043 students had enrolled in classes for the fall semester at Northwest College.That is 325 more than the same time last year, a head count increase of nearly 18.5 percent, according to figures from NWC registrar Brad Hammond.Dee Havig, NWC residence life and campus director, said it also is the college's second-highest enrollment ever, just behind the 1994 record. The official count in a few weeks could be even higher.“This is the result of great recruiting,” he said. “We've really turned this recruiting around.”

The largest enrollment increase was in the number of part-time transfer and returning students with fewer than 30 credits, which increased 50 percent, from 180 last fall to 270 Tuesday.

Similarly, the figures show the number of full-time transfer and returning students with fewer than 30 credits increased by 31.2 percent, from 234 last year to 307 Tuesday.

More importantly for administrators, the college's full-time equivalency — the total number of credits taken, divided by the number of students enrolled — also is up by 16.1 percent, the figures show.

Full-time equivalency, once finalized, is the number that largely determines the amount of state funding the college receives each year.

The total full-time equivalency count as of Tuesday stood at 2,043 — 284 more than the 1,759 figure from the same point in the semester last year.

Enrollment at Wyoming's six other college also is up substantially.

Meanwhile, the number of students living on the Northwest College campus also increased this year, and residence halls, including the new Simpson Hall addition, are full.

Havig said 675 students are living in residence halls, up from 573 last year, and only 15 fewer than the 1994 record of 690.

“We had a fantastic sophomore retention of students living in the halls. We hope that means they had a good experience in the halls last year.”

By comparison, fewer than 400 students lived in residence halls in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

Havig noted that 15 students who were signed up for residence halls this fall were offered apartments at a discounted rate when the residence halls began filling up. All told, there are 88 students living in student apartments — many of them with families.

In addition, 398 students who signed up for single rooms in residence halls agreed to take on roommates and were given a discounted housing price.

Havig gave much of the credit for making the housing work to Kristie Sullivan, residence and conference specialist, who made difficult calls and facilitated housing arrangements with students.

“We were really trying to avoid having to see if we could place people with the public or in a motel,” Havig said.

Without the extra of 76 beds in the Simpson Hall addition, which opened up this fall, “I don't know what we would have done,” Havig said.

“Just walking around the campus at night, or during the day, you can feel that larger campus population. It's just like the campus is really buzzing.”