BOTHELL — University of Washington’s Bothell campus has grown by more than 300 students this fall, breaking previous enrollment records.

Enrollment rose by 21 percent from the fall of 2007. The total head count of full and part-time students is 2,288.

There are the equivalent of 1,899 full-time students at the Bothell campus this fall. Last year at the same time, it had the equivalent of 1,569 full-time students.

UW-Bothell Chancellor Kenyon Chan said enrollment has jumped by at least 10 percent each of the last four years.

“These enrollment increases are true indicators that UW-Bothell is growing stronger with every year,” Chan said.

UW-Bothell enrollment started to rise dramatically when the Legislature allowed the school to accept freshmen in 2006.

There are 241 freshmen this year compared with 157 last year. Of those, there are 90 freshmen from Snohomish County compared with 57 last year.

Before 2006, UW-Bothell accepted juniors, seniors and graduate students.

Most of the undergraduate and graduate students are from King County. Seattle, Bothell and Bellevue are the top three cities listed by students as their home towns. Bothell straddles the King-Snohomish county line with students from both counties.

Snohomish County residents make up 28 percent of the total enrollment. There are 631 students from Snohomish County, which includes 148 from Everett, 128 from Lynnwood, 74 from Edmonds and 70 from Snohomish.

College leaders attribute the rising enrollment to several factors, such as recruiting efforts, changes in the admissions review process that include looking more closely at each student, more visibility in the community and increased marketing and advertising.

“It is very impressive to see the campus growth over the last few years,” said Hung Dang, assistant vice chancellor for enrollment management, who has worked at the Bothell campus for 11 of the 18 years it has been in operation.

“We have seen outstanding changes and additions in our facilities and academic programs and, most of all, our student enrollment,” Dang said. “The growth has allowed us increased visibility in the community and enables us to fulfill our mission of providing increased access to higher education to the region.”

UW-Bothell hopes to see enrollment increase to 5,000 students by 2020, according to long-term planning documents.

The Bothell campus isn’t the only area hoping to attract UW students. An effort to land a UW campus that would serve north Snohomish, Island and Skagit counties remains under study as state and local political leaders and policy makers try to resolve key issues, including where to put it.

This fall, the average age of students on the Bothell campus is 27. For undergraduates, that average age is 26 and for graduate students it is 35.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.