"George Mason University’s total student enrollment has surpassed 40,000 this year, marking a record for both the school and the commonwealth.

The 40,000 includes the university’s anticipated record total of roughly 11,000 new students, including the largest freshman class in school history of 4,500 students, 3,500 of which are from Virginia.

Official enrollment figures will soon be released by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, which is expected to affirm Mason as the state’s largest public research university, according to a news release.

'In a state where higher education has been around for more than 300 years, this is a moment in history of which we are particularly proud. Record students enrolled means record students graduating, record lives transformed, and record opportunities for regional businesses looking to hire our graduates,' George Mason University President Gregory Washington said in a statement. 'It is particularly gratifying knowing that we are holding steady on our student-to-faculty ratio and maintaining our overall graduation rates, which are well above the national average.'" reports InsideNOVA.

Photo: A statue of George Mason as the Fairfax campus.