Students continue to stream onto the campuses of Washington's public four-year universities as the enrollment boom of the past few years shows no sign of ending.

Central Washington University in Ellensburg has its biggest freshman class ever with 1,554, compared with 1,483 students in fall 2007. Total full-time enrollment was 9,600.

At the University of Washington's Seattle campus, its enrollment stands at 41,405 students this fall, an increase of 1,187 students over fall 2007, university officials said.

Record-breaking freshman classes and better recruitment and retention were responsible for the increases at the state's six universities, school officials said. They also boast of a more diverse freshman class, with the Latino student population showing significant growth.

The University of Washington was aiming for 5,500 freshmen this year and so far the freshman class stands at 5,540, said Philip Ballinger, admissions director.

Enrollment at the university's branch campuses in Tacoma and Bothell is also up, but final figures won't be available until later this week. Early numbers showed the Tacoma campus nearing 3,000 students, which would be an increase of 350 students over fall 2007.

"More and more students are realizing that access to a University of Washington-quality education exists right here in Tacoma," said Derek Levy, who leads UW Tacoma's Enrollment Services office.

University President Mark Emmert said this past summer that he would like to double enrollment at UW branch campuses over the next decade. He told the Higher Education Coordinating Board that his plan would require aggressive outreach as well as on-campus housing in Tacoma and Bothell.

Other state universities:

Washington State University: record fall enrollment for the second year in a row, with 25,135 students at the school's four campuses, an increase of 1,166 students since fall 2007.

Central Washington University: biggest freshman class ever with 1,554, compared with 1,483 students in fall 2007. Total full-time enrollment was 9,600.

Eastern Washington University: Fall enrollment is 9,897, its second-biggest year.

The Evergreen State College: 4,581 students, up from 4,534 in 2007.

Western Washington University: Preliminary numbers show growth from from 13,352 to 13,700 students.