SEATTLE

Baby boomers continue to send record numbers of their children to Washington's public four-year universities, where enrollment is up on most campuses again this year.

Total enrollment for the six schools is 106,375, up 1,891 students since last fall.

Record-breaking freshman classes, expanded branch campuses and better recruitment and retention account for the increase, school officials say.

And a winning basketball team doesn't hurt, adds Jim Roche, associate vice provost for enrollment services at Washington State University.

WSU's fall enrollment at its four campuses totals 23,969 up 541 from last fall's numbers.

Roche gave credit to the baby boom echo, strategic recruiting combined with more financial aid and some enthusiastic participation in the university's two branch campuses that now accept freshmen and sophomores.

WSU's three-campus freshman class totals 3,475, the university's biggest freshman class and hundreds more than its last big class in 2004.

Still, college admissions officers across the state said they expected the baby boom echo's impact on college enrollment will end within the next three or four years.

Western Washington University's fall enrollment also includes its largest freshman class, said Karen Copetas, director of admissions and enrollment planning.

Western's fall enrollment is 13,352, up 373 from last fall's numbers. That includes 161 more freshman than last year, plus extra students in high demand majors, thanks to supplemental dollars from the Legislature.

"We are almost at our limit in terms of the number of students we can accommodate on our campus," Copetas said.

Western is looking at moving some of its upper division or special programs to a new waterfront campus in Bellingham.

Several universities Western, the University of Washington and Eastern Washington University mentioned growing diversity on their campuses.

Copetas credits a couple of innovative high school programs for helping bring more students to Washington universities this year. She said the graduates of a number of programs that help students get ready for college and give them higher expectations for themselves are now showing up on campus. These programs have also improved economic and ethnic diversity on campuses.