MONMOUTH, Ill. — It’s official.

After a week of buzz around campus that Monmouth College’s all-time enrollment record could be broken, it was announced today that 1,379 students are enrolled for the fall semester, eclipsing a mark that has stood since Lyndon B. Johnson was the nation’s president.

When the nation’s economy bottomed out last fall, colleges like Monmouth began bracing for a drop in enrollment. Planning for a decline of 200 students – or roughly 15 percent – was a worst-case scenario. Monmouth College president Mauri Ditzler was asked how the college was able to not just maintain its enrollment, but actually increase it.

“There’s a growing perception that a Monmouth College education is a best value, and in difficult economic times, value becomes increasingly important,” Ditzler said. “Our growing reputation as an institution that provides great value at an affordable cost is serving us well.”

Both Ditzler and dean of admission Christine Johnston also credited a campus-wide student recruitment and retention effort, including increased help from faculty and alumni, in reaching the new enrollment milestone.

“We were very pleased to welcome one of our largest incoming classes to campus this fall,” said Johnston of the college’s 440 first-time students which came from a pool of a record number of applicants.

“These students promise to be great additions to all of our programs,” she concluded. “It is always rewarding when students find their college fit at Monmouth.”

The previous high in Monmouth’s 156-year history came in 1967-68, when 1,367 students were enrolled. Shortly thereafter, the student population began what would be a steady decline, eventually reaching a low point in the early 1990s when enrollment was just below 600 students. However, it has steadily increased since, with last year’s figure at 1,328 students. This year’s record enrollment represents nearly a 4 percent increase from the fall of 2008.