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New Mexico State University students walk to their next destinations in April 2010. NMSU has recorded another increase in enrollment for the spring semester.

LAS CRUCES - New Mexico State University has recorded a 1.4 percent increase in spring 2011 enrollment. There are 28,759 students taking classes on NMSU 's five campuses, according to numbers released by the university.

Enrollment at the Las Cruces campus increased by 43 students to a total of 17,225 for spring 2011, a 0.3 percent increase from the same time last year.

The growth is credited to an increase in out-of-state transfer students. Universities in Arizona and California are capping enrollment, and students are coming to NMSU where the cost of tuition and cost of living are relatively inexpensive, said Bernadette Montoya, interim vice president for student success. In addition, she said some out-of-state students are drawn to NMSU's unique programs, like PGA Golf Management, and drawn to the fact that undergraduate students can participate in faculty research.

This spring, NMSU Alamogordo totaled 3,575 students, up 5.3 percent from the same time last year. Doña Ana Community College counted 8,874 students, an increase of 5.3 percent. NMSU Grants had 1,601 students, an increase of 7.4 percent. And NMSU Carlsbad had 1,807 students, a decrease of 9.1 percent from the previous spring.

NMSU Carlsbad President Russell Hardy attributes the decline in enrollment there to a low unemployment rate. In November 2010, the unemployment rate in Eddy County stood at 5.4 percent, compared with a state average of 8.5 percent and a national average of 9.8 percent.

"Basically

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our enrollment follows the unemployment rate, so when unemployment is high, enrollment rate is high," Hardy said.

Hardy also noted that in the last four years NMSU Carlsbad has averaged a 16 percent increase in enrollment.

"We were down the fall 2010 and down the spring 2011. But semesters prior we had set enrollment records," he said. "So it didn't surprise us when it started coming down because we hit a plateau. And when the economy started improving those students went back to work."

NMSU will report the final enrollment figures to the New Mexico Higher Education Department in May.

Christine Rogel can be reached at (575) 541-5424.

By the numbers

Las Cruces campus enrollment

•Spring 2011: 17,225

•Spring 2010: 17,182

•Spring 2009: 16,303

•Spring 2008: 15,732

NMSU enrollment (system wide)

•Spring 2011: 28,759

•Spring 2010: 28,352

•Spring 2009: 30,009

•Spring 2008: 28,036

NMSU Spring 2011 enrollment

•Alamogordo: 3,575 students, up 5.3 percent

•Doña Ana Community College: 8,874 students, up 5.3 percent

•Grants campus: 1,601 students, up 7.4 percent

•Carlsbad campus: 1,807, down 9.1 percent

Source: NMSU