CEDAR RAPIDS – Coe College in Cedar Rapids saw a slight decline in enrollment this fall compared to last year’s record number, but Coe enrolled its highest-ever number of first-year students in fall 2012, officials announced Tuesday.

Coe registered 1,304 full-time students for fall term, the second-highest enrollment in the college’s history. It’s a slight decline — only eight students –  from last fall’s record of 1,312 full-time students. In total, Coe has 1,404 full- and part-time students this fall.

Along with having a record number of first-year students — 364 — this fall, Coe also set records in the number of students living in campus housing (1,146, up from 1,107) and in the number of applications, 2,645 for fall 2012 admission.

Coe has 71 first-time ethnic minority students, representing more than 19 percent of the entering class, officials said. The class of 2016 is 52.5 percent Iowa residents and 47.5 percent out-of-state students, with an average ACT score of 25.5 and grade-point average of 3.7.

“With impressive average test scores, grade-point averages and high school classroom performance, our first-year students continue the tradition of academic excellence at Coe,” President James Phifer said in a statement. “In addition, the record number of first-year students and the large incoming class are consistent with the college’s multi-year plan for modest growth.”