After reaching a three-year high in enrollment in 2016, the number of students enrolled in fall semester classes this year at Northwestern Oklahoma State University is slightly smaller.

In preliminary enrollment information presented to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Northwestern reported head-count enrollment of 2,095 students, a decrease of 5 percent over last year’s count of 2,200.

Officials at Northwestern cited a drop of nearly 100 international students, plus smaller enrollments at outreach sites as factors in this year’s smaller numbers.

“We knew there would be challen...