Nearly 1,000 additional students are attending college this fall at Eastern Michigan University.

The latest count shows 22,859 total students are enrolled for the fall 2009, a 4 percent increase over the fall of 2008. More transfer students, graduate students and incoming freshmen resulted in the boost.

In a report to the EMU Board of Regents Tuesday, Bernice Lindke, vice president of student affairs and enrollment management, explained contributing factors that increased enrollment, including increased recruitment efforts at community colleges.

Eastern Michigan Universities has 93 transfer agreements with 13 Michigan community colleges, two Ohio community colleges and a technical college in Windsor, Ontario.

Officials noted the economic climate that is sending adults in search of new career directions at graduate schools and affordable tuition as further draws to EMU.

The university's 3.8 percent tuition hike approved this past June was the lowest among Michigan's 15 public universities. In-state undergraduates at EMU pay $8,377 annually in tuition and fees. The year prior, undergraduate students experienced a 7.7-percent tuition hike.

But EMU faces challenges when it comes to graduation rates. According to data from College Results Online, run by non-profit organization The Education Trust, 39 percent of students entering Eastern Michigan University will earn a bachelor's degree within six years.

At Western Michigan University and Central University, which like EMU belong to the Mid-American Conference, 54 percent and 57 percent, respectively, of students will earn bachelor's degrees within six years.

Meanwhile, the graduation rate at the Ann Arbor campus for the University of Michigan is 88 percent; at Wayne State, 32 percent; and Michigan State, 74 percent.

Asked if EMU was putting as much effort into retention as it was to recruitment, Lindke noted the faculty affairs committee had announced retention as a top priority at a meeting earlier in the day.

"It is important," she said after the board of regents meeting. "Retention is a priority for all of us here."

New Brighton campus In other news, the EMU Board of Regents approved the lease of a new Brighton facility that will house its satellite campus there starting a year from now. The move to the new facility, which hasn't yet been built, will mean much more visibility at a prime spot at I-96 and Grand River Road, said Byron Bond, dean for EMU's extended programs and educational outreach.

At $170,000 per year, the new facility will also result in cost savings of 10 percent. The current Brighton location serves 300 students and generates $1 million annually for EMU.

EMU has held classes at 2250 Genoa Business Park Drive for 7 years; that lease expires next fall.

Offerings there include master's degrees and certificates in health and education-related programs, and an undergraduate program for nursing. It's one of eight satellite locations run by EMU.

Juliana Keeping covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at julianakeeping@annarbor.com or 734-623-2528. Follow Juliana Keeping on Twitter