Two of Iowa’s Regents institutions are reporting increases in fall semester enrollment. At Iowa State University, it’s the first time enrollment has gone up since 2002. ISU’s student enrollment is 26,160, an increase of 698 students, or 2.7 percent, compared to fall 2006. At the University of Northern Iowa, Registrar Phil Patton is reporting a similar percentage increase.

Patton says fall enrollment at UNI is 12,609. That represents a 2.8 percent increase (349 students) over fall 2006. "This is increase is spearheaded by an increase in new freshman, of a raw number of 223" Patton says, "also increasing were areas of graduate enrollment and total new student enrollment."

Patton says UNI’s 2007 fall enrollment numbers are higher than what was projected. Patton says: "Much of that is due in part to a higher yield rate, from those students particularly coming out of high school, from the application to actual enrollment stage. So, these numbers are higher than what we anticipated." Officials at the University of Iowa will release their fall enrollment figures next Wednesday.