While the University of Wisconsin System experienced a minor decline in overall enrollment this fall, the University of Wisconsin saw an increase in its enrollment from the 2011-12 school year.

According to a UW statement, the 2012-13 freshman class added to this enrollment increase by qualifying as UW’s largest incoming class ever with 6,279 new students.

Provost Paul DeLuca said the large size of the freshman class can be attributed to two main causes, the first being improved graduation programs that help students graduate from the university faster.

“The overall graduation environment here has improved,” DeLuca said. “This allows us to admit more applicants.”

DeLuca added the second reason for a larger freshman class is UW and the city of Madison are attractive to students looking for the right place to go to college.

According to DeLuca, Madison’s status as an appealing city for students and UW’s competitive admission process keeps the university’s enrollment level.

“We are a very attractive place with a very competitive admission process so we tend to deal with [the decrease in high school graduates] better than some other universities can,” DeLuca said.

Despite the increase in enrollment at UW, a statement made by the UW System expressed a minor decrease of 0.6 percent in the overall enrollment at UW schools this school year.

UW System spokesperson David Giroux said in an email to The Badger Herald this decrease in enrollment involves a small decline from last year of less than 30 undergraduate students and about 1,000 graduate students.

“Overall, the number of undergraduate students system-wide declined by a very small amount – less than 30,” Giroux said in the email. “That small decline tracks with a decline in the number of high school graduates, which is a result of declining birth rates starting about 18 years ago.”

Giroux added while the number of undergraduate students parallels the number of high school graduates, the slightly greater decline of graduate students system-wide could be from a variety of different reasons.

Giroux said some schools within the system saw enrollment gains like UW while others saw declines. He added there could be many possible reasons for an increase in UW enrollment despite the system-wide decrease, but one major factor is graduation rates.

“As we do a better job of graduating students faster, that reduces our total enrollment,” Giroux said in the email. “In that respect, the general declines may be a result of our success, to some extent.”

DeLuca said the decrease in high school graduates also plays a definite role in the overall drop in enrollment within the UW System.

“The number of kids graduating from high school is on a downward trajectory, … and if you have no change in your admissions policy, that means you will have less students being enrolled in you school,” DeLuca said.

However, DeLuca added UW has not been as affected by these high school graduation rates as some of the other schools in the UW System, as can be seen in UW’s increased enrollment.

DeLuca added he is pleased to see the student enrollment at UW continually increasing.

“I think it is an indication of the quality of the education we give here and the attractiveness of our campus to students,” DeLuca said.