ALAMOSA – Adams State University enrolled 1,710 undergraduate students for the fall 2018 semester and was able to slow the trend of steeper declines from previous fall enrollment figures.

Adams State’s fall figures show an 11 percent growth in first-time students and 12 percent growth in transfer students from a year ago. Overall, the university’s fall undergraduate enrollment is down 1 percent from fall 2017 due to an 8 percent drop in returning students.

“We know we are on track to grow the student population of the university,” said Adams State President Cheryl Lovell. “We also know we have a lot more work to do, and we are committed to making sure we are communicating and reaching out to students and families across the San Luis Valley, across Colorado, and across the Rocky Mountain region to draw their interest in our small but wonderful campus.”

In addition to undergraduate students, Adams State has 1,043 graduate students enrolled this fall for a total student headcount of 2,753. Adams State’s counselor education online graduate degree program is gaining so much strength that it has a waiting list of students seeking entry.

Driving Adams State’s enthusiasm that it can buck the trends of higher education and grow its enrollment is the fact undergraduate enrollment fell at much steeper declines in previous years, including a 6.7 percent drop from 2016 to 2017. The last time Adams State showed overall growth in its undergraduate population was 2011, when it grew by 2.4 percent from 2010 enrollment.

Adams State and other universities use fall semester enrollment figures as the official census for student enrollment. Adams State’s enrollment census was finalized on Sept. 5.

As a public university, Adams State receives state financial support based on its fall census. The university’s next focus will be to improve its student retention rate from fall to spring semesters.