Columbus State University says it’s topped 8,200 students - a record enrollment for the school - and 126 of those are attending classes at the college’s newest campus in West Point.

Kathy Carlisle, dean of enrollment services, said West Point still is enrolling for second session classes that will start in October and she expects services at the new campus will continue to expand - with people and facilities.

“We are pretty excited about the enrollment and continued interest from prospective students,” Carlisle said. “We have students from 18 to 78 years of age, and they all seem to enjoy the small classrooms and friendly environment. We are hiring two tutors for math and English, and are planning to open a computer lab during the week and on Saturday for our students.

 
 “We are also exploring opportunities to offer continuing-education classes during the day and looking at more space for expansion.”

She’s already encouraging students to apply for the spring term.

School officials said they were pleased to see the growth at its main campus, along with West Point and a site at Fort Benning, in spite of the economy.

“CSU has hit several records this fall,” said Chip Reese, dean of students and enrollment management. “We have had more applications for admission and financial aid than ever before, served more veterans than ever, and our residence halls are at capacity. The cooperation of the entire campus working toward these goals has been very rewarding.”

The total enrollment will be official later this fall after a final report to the state Board of Regents. It’s the second year in a row the college has broken enrollment records. In fall 2008, the number of enrolled students hit the 8,000 mark briefly before a count settled to a final, official enrollment of 7,953, a college spokesman said.

Enrollment has increased since 2004, when the college reported 7,224 students.

Jennifer Shrader may be reached at jshrader@lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 236.