HILO » After years of steady increases the student enrollment at the University of Hawaii at Hilo has fallen.

The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports enrollment dropped by 3 percent this fall.

It had increased annually for a decade.

Chancellor Donald Straney says the school retained higher numbers for incoming freshmen but did not keep students at higher levels.

Straney says similar colleges have the same problem.

He says 62 percent didn’t meet retention goals this year.

Straney says a recovering economy may be the reason. He says more jobs have been available and students are entering the workforce.

The university enrolled 4,034 students this fall, a decrease of 3.3 percent.