First-day fall enrollment at Southeast Missouri State University rose for the third year in a row.

Southeast had 7,843 students enrolled on the first day of classes Monday, up 21 from a year ago.

"It's encouraging that overall enrollment has increased for three consecutive years," said Dr. Dale Nitzschke, Southeast's president. But he said the university must strengthen its recruiting efforts.

School officials said the final enrollment figure, calculated four weeks into the semester, also could be up over last year's 8,219.

"Typically we pick up 200 to 300 more students between now and the census date," said Art Wallhausen, assistant to the president.

Final fall enrollment has been on the increase since bottoming out at 7,925 in 1994.

School officials hope they have turned the corner in their efforts to boost enrollment. "One would hope the momentum would continue," said Wallhausen.

Southeast wants to increase enrollment to 10,300 over the next few years. To that end, the university has hired Dr. Robert Parrent as associate vice president for enrollment management. It also announced plans this week to open a recruiting office in St. Louis.

As part of its recruiting efforts, the university plans to target various groups of students. They include minorities, transfer students and international students.

"The old shotgun approach is not as effective anymore," Parrent said.

Undergraduate headcount stood at 7,059 students Monday, down 46 from a year ago. But graduate headcount stood at 784, up 67 from a year ago.

Dr. Sheila Caskey, dean of graduate studies, said enrollment in the graduate school has increased the past few years. Caskey said the robust economy and increases in off-campus graduate course offerings have helped enrollment.

The university also has added several new graduate programs -- master's degrees in business administration, nursing and health fitness administration -- that have attracted new students, she said.

Southeast saw increased first-day enrollment for sophomores, juniors and seniors. But Southeast had fewer beginning freshmen.

Southeast had 1,234 freshmen enrolled in classes Monday, down 58 students or 5 percent over last fall.

But the school's undergraduate enrollment included 1,574 sophomores, up 19 or 1 percent; 1,525 juniors, up 126 or 8 percent; and 1,804 seniors, up 48 or 3 percent.

Despite the drop in beginning freshmen, Parrent said he was pleased overall with enrollment. He said the first-year students appeared to be academically sound.

Parrent said there aren't as many high school students these days. That translates into a smaller pool of high school graduates and prospective college students, he said.

The nation's colleges also must increasingly meet the continuing education needs of older Americans.

"We are looking at an older population that has needs for retraining and retooling," he said.

Parrent also said Southeast serves a region where a large percentage of its residents haven't gone on to college.

Even with the freshman enrollment decline, Parrent said Southeast is making progress in meeting the goals of its strategic plan.

Parrent believes Southeast's new efforts will pay dividends in student recruitment.

"I think the future is very bright for Southeast Missouri State University," he said.