The University of Regina’s student population growth has hit historic numbers.

933 more students are going to the U of R when compared to the fall of 2018, making it the largest yearly spike in student population growth since 1982, which the University says is a testament to how many students are choosing the U of R over other schools for their post-secondary education.

Provost and Vice-President Thomas Chase said over 19% of the overall student population is international students.

“Not only are they coming here but they’re saying good things about us, and their friends, sisters and brothers and siblings are following them,” Chase said. “One of the things I think sets the University of Regina apart from some of the other institutions is the tremendous care we take with international students and the supports we put in place for them.”

With the self-declared First Nations, Metis and Inuit student population sitting at just over 13 percent, Chase said it’s important to the University to see those numbers improve.

“Strategically and indeed in terms of our role as a post-secondary provider in this province, it’s absolutely critical that we attract, retain and graduate increasing numbers of First Nations, Metis and Inuit students,” Chase said. “We’re doing that, and we want to do more: we would like to see that number to rise to match the representation in the general population and maybe even exceed it in coming years.”

Graduate student numbers are also on the rise. The U of R is reporting that there are 127 more graduate students this year, which is a 6.7% increase from last year.