Full-time enrolment at Fanshawe College jumped by almost seven per cent in 2015, well above the Ontario average increase of 2.4 per cent.

The school welcomed 9,000 first-year students this year, the college's largest incoming class ever.

Part of the reason for the increase, Fanshawe says, is that international registrations are up more than 40 per cent over 2014.

In a statement, Fanshawe's Tony Frost said, “Today’s students want the job-related benefits of going to college...students know that increased lifetime earnings and career advancement result from a college education.”

Across the province, there was a record 2.4 per cent increase in enrolment over 2014, with more than 237,000 students in full-time programs.

First-year students make up more than 133,000 of those enrolled, an increase of 2.7 per cent over last year.

Over the past five years, the number of university graduates enrolled in college has also jumped by 50 per cent.