Topeka ? Faced with talk of budget cuts, Fort Hays State University officials decided to aggressively recruit new students.

The result was a 13.6 percent increase in enrollment this fall and another $500,000 in tuition revenue, FHSU president Edward Hammond said.

The biggest growth was in the university’s Virtual College program, which permits students to take audio or video courses, or courses over the Internet or interactive television. Its enrollment jumped from 1,177 students in fall 2001 to 1,890 this fall, more than 60 percent.

The university increased new freshmen and transfer students, and overall on-campus enrollment rose about 1.2 percent, to 4,502.

Hammond said the university looked for ways to increase its student population without adding staff or increasing other costs. Virtual College enrollments do that; the university also limited admissions of out-of-state students to programs that had space in them.