Paine College has seen an increase in new students for the fall semester, with a large number coming from outside Augusta and Georgia.

Admissions officials attribute the 16-percent uptick of new first-time freshmen and transfer students to new recruiting tools that include call nights and better utilization of friends, alumni and technology.

Paine College is a private, historically black, liberal arts college in Augusta. Joseph Tinsley, the director of admissions, said the profile of the new student class is more demographically diverse, though similar in the caliber of grade-point averages and test scores as in years past.

"We made a concerted effort last year to have a more demographically diverse student body," Mr. Tinsley said.

Of the 318 first-time freshmen and new transfer students, 100 are out-of-state students and 218 are in-state students.

An articulation with Greenville Technical College has increased the number of students coming from Greenville, S.C., he said. The articulation agreement makes credits from Greenville Tech transferable to Paine.

George C. Bradley, Paine's president, also has connections in South Carolina, Mr. Tinsley said.

Paine's enrollment increase mirrors what is happening at colleges across the country, he said.

"It gives them an opportunity to pursue an education because of the lack of employment," Mr. Tinsley said.

The call nights were implemented last year. Student ambassadors, Paine students who lead campus tours, made calls to prospective students.

"Since that's something new that we put in, I wouldn't shy away from saying that caused the increase," Mr. Tinsley said.

The student ambassadors added a personal touch at no real cost to the college, he said.

Paine plans to shift its focus.

"We want to be able to attract more valedictorians, salutatorians, the top 10 percent," Mr. Tinsley said.

Technology, including online applications, has helped students outside Augusta find Paine College, but plans involve the college using technology to find them.

The scope of college recruiting is changing with technology such as Enrollment Planning Services by the College Board, a program that gives information on specific demographics.

According to the EPS page on the College Board Web site, institutions may access academic interest, performance, primary language, religion, ethnicity, gender, average household income, college bound rates, mobility rates for in-state and out-of-state, Advanced Placement information and SAT scores.

Reach Sarah Day Owen at (706) 823-3223 or sarah.owen@augustachronicle.com.