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The University of Maine System is starting the new academic year with its highest overall projected student enrollment in more than a decade.

The official count occurs in October, but more than 28,000 students are projected to be enrolled this fall across the system’s seven schools, UMaine System spokesperson Samantha Warren said in a news release Monday.

Four of the seven schools have an overall increase in enrollment, while the other three are all experiencing record-breaking numbers in certain areas or programs.

A more detailed report will be released in November, but it’s the system’s highest projected headcount since 2016.

Officials cite the system’s commitment to affordability, online programs, workforce-focused degrees and easier pathways to college.

“While the national enrollment cliff and changing federal landscape are intensifying financial pressures on our public institutions, it is significant that the University of Maine System is preparing more professionals for good-paying careers and strengthening the state’s employers and economy,” Chancellor Dannel Malloy said in a statement.

Maine’s public universities are the most affordable in New England with 30% of undergraduate students paying nothing out of pocket for tuition and fees, according to the system.

Overall enrollment in the system has increased from 25,870 students last year to 26,662 this year, with additional enrollments expected to bring the number over 28,000 through the year.

Last year, the University of Maine System saw about a 1% growth in enrollment.

The two largest schools in the system — the University of Maine in Orono and University of Southern Maine — currently show slight decreases in overall enrollment.

The University of Maine enrolled 10,938 students last year; 10,674 are projected for this fall. USM enrolled 6,201 last year and 6,000 are expected this fall.

Most of the system’s overall enrollment gains can be attributed to the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s YourPace program, the news release said. The program allows working adults who already have some college to complete their degrees.

Out of the 4,100 students at Presque Isle, four-fifths are enrolled in the program. The University of Maine at Presque Isle is serving 70% more students than this time last year and 251% more students than five years ago. Last year, 2,404 students were enrolled at UMPI.

The University of Maine at Augusta, which offers free tuition to most Pell-eligible in-state students through Pine Tree State Pledge, has its largest incoming class of first-year, first-time students on record at 300 students starting Monday. If a student is Pell-eligible, they demonstrate a level of financial need.

Programs beyond bachelor’s degrees are seeing record enrollment, Warren said, with more than 5,200 graduate students and 635 doctoral degree students enrolled this fall.

The University of Maine School of Law has its highest enrollment since the late 1990s, with 297 juris doctor students. Last year, there were 290 students.

The University of Maine at Farmington in the last five years has nearly doubled the number of students it serves through the university’s career-aligned master’s programs to 535 students.

The University of Maine at Fort Kent’s nursing and other master’s programs have grown from serving 23 students in 2022 to 246 projected students this fall. The school’s online nursing program doctoral degree has doubled this year to 24 students.

“Against the strongest demographic headwinds in the nation, our system is a success story that our students, faculty, staff and all Mainers should take pride in,” Malloy said in the statement. “Nine consecutive semesters of enrollment growth demonstrate that Maine’s public universities are innovating to meet the market with high-quality, affordable programs that more students and families recognize as the region’s most proven path to opportunity and upward mobility.”

A more detailed report on student enrollment will be released in November after the census data is collected on Oct. 15, Warren said.