ENROLLMENT UP FOR SPRING SEMESTER

Southeast Missouri State University has 8,524 students enrolled spring semester, final census figures show.

Southeast has 7,183 undergraduate students, up from 6,960 a year ago. Total graduate student headcount stands at 1,341, up 14.4 percent from last spring, school officials said.

The enrollment figures include 1,663 returning freshmen, up 15 percent from a year ago. Sophomore headcount stands at 1,339, up slightly from last spring, officials said.

The university has fewer juniors and seniors enrolled than a year ago, school officials said. Southeast has 1,412 juniors and 1,918 seniors.

Southeast officials said the drop in enrollment at the junior and senior levels reflected the smaller freshmen classes of three or four years ago.

Graduate school enrollment has continued to climb as the university has added new programs, officials said.

Southeast has 767 students seeking master's degrees, up 15.7 percent from last spring's enrollment.

The university has 124 graduate students seeking specialist degrees in education. The school has 13 doctoral students, up from seven a year ago.