Harding University posted a record undergraduate enrollment for fall 2012. Total undergraduate enrollment is up to 4,390 from last year’s 4,340. Of the number of undergraduates enrolling, 1,245 were new students.

One of the reasons undergraduate enrollment increased is the freshman to sophomore retention rate, which is 81 percent. This year, students represent 49 states and more than 50 foreign countries.

The school received a total of 2,477 applications from new students for the 2012 fall semester and has already received almost 900 applications for fall 2013.

In addition to the Searcy campus, students from the University are also studying at international campuses in Australia, Chile, England, Greece, Italy and Zambia, professional centers in Bentonville, Ark., Little Rock, Ark., and Memphis, Tenn., and at the Harding School of Theology in Memphis.

Total headcount enrollment is 6,815, which compares to 7,155 in fall 2011. Graduate enrollment dipped to 2,425 from last year’s total of 2,815. The University will no longer be enrolling as many students in two programs that are being phased out by the Arkansas Department of Education. Last year, Harding enrolled 390 students in these two programs.

Harding is recognized by Peterson’s Cool Colleges and has been ranked for 18 consecutive years by U.S. News & World Report as one of the South’s best universities in the magazine’s annual America’s Best Colleges issue. The University is also recognized by Princeton Review as one of the best universities in the Southeast.