Today is the first day of classes at many area colleges and universities.

And not surprisingly, many of those schools are reporting increases in their opening-day enrollments.

Many universities, which have a waiting list for housing, are benefiting in part from a demographic bump amongst the college-going crowd. In some cases, schools have also been boosting recruiting efforts. And the tighter economic times is also thought to be having an impact, with more students choosing to go to community colleges and public universities.

Here’s a round-up of some of the numbers coming in:

• Mizzou is up 1,700 students overall for a total enrollment of 29,761. The record freshman class of 5,812 has 785 more students than last year, for a 15.6 percent increase. As the Post-Dispatch reported earlier this month, Mizzou admissions officials believe the school’s football success last year may be helping boost its enrollment numbers.
• Missouri University of Science & Technology(formerly the University of Missouri-Rolla) is up about 4 percent overall from last year. Total enrollment is expected to be around 6,224. In a press release, university officials said they don’t believe the name change last year adversely affected enrollment numbers. Student numbers have surged 46 percent since 2000.
• Missouri State University says it is up 1.4 percent at its Springfield campus for a total of 17,425 students. The university’s West Plains campus is also showing an increase.
• After a couple of years of steady or dropping enrollment, St. Louis Community College is gearing up for a 4 percent enrollment increase. The college has stepped up its marketing and recruiting efforts in the last year or so.