The University of Wisconsin System schools have reached an all-time high for enrollment, the System announced Monday.

The UW System released a statement announcing UW schools have set a new enrollment record for 2010 with 181,172 students on 26 campuses, according to preliminary data. Enrollment was up 2, 873 students from last year.

UW System spokesperson David Giroux said the most dramatic increase was in two-year colleges with an overall increase in enrollment of 4.3 percent.

Giroux added University of Wisconsin enrollment was up 1.3 percent, at 42,180.

Giroux said the increase did not come from an increase in the freshman class. Rather, the universities have done a tremendous job of retaining the students already attending them, Giroux said.

“It is evidence that we are becoming more efficient,” Giroux added.

Board of Regents President Charles Pruitt said he was not surprised by the increase in enrollment.

Pruitt said he believes the growth is related directly to the Growth for Agenda for Wisconsin, the UW System’s plan to increase the amount of graduates by 30 percent to produce an additional 80,000 graduates over the next 15 years.

Pruitt added campuses have been trying to find ways to increase enrollment, retain the students they have, as well as work on nontraditional ways of educating students.

“It was expected because it has been intentional,” Pruitt said.

Giroux said he was glad to see more students are persisting with their education, which is a credit to both the students and the universities.

He said to move forward, the UW System will have to work more efficiently with funding and flexibility to make sure enrollment continues to increase.

The system is constrained by state laws and regulations right now and, with those constraints, it relies on state funding, Giroux said.

Pruitt said it is too early to say what will happen with the Wisconsin state budget for the next cycle, but the universities can only do so much with the resources they have in order to ensure increases in enrollment in the future.

Giroux said they are waiting anxiously and are interested to see what will happen regarding the Wisconsin state budget in the coming months.