Congratulations to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, as it continues its climb in enrollment, reaching over the 2,000 mark for the first time in over a decade.

As Transcript stories on Saturday and Monday pointed out, the college has become the first choice of many quality students, including valedictorians from Pittsfield High School and Drury. This fall, the school has welcomed 360 freshmen and a whopping 175 transfer students. Imagine: students transferring to MCLA for its programs rather than out of MCLA in search of something more.

This bodes well for the future, and the college should have little trouble reaching its enrollment goal of "2,010 by 2010."

Part of this success can be attributed to the hard work of MCLA admissions and marketing employees and the college's seemingly tireless president, Mary K. Grant. But another important factor is the new programs instituted, including arts management and environmental studies.

So, too, is affordability, as students and parents realize a good education is available at a reasonable price from a public liberal arts college -- one that just happens to be located in the unbeatable setting of the beautiful Berkshires. That certainly doesn't hurt, as many students pointed out in the recent articles.

The school may never reach the burgeoning numbers of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when undergraduate enrollment alone averaged around 2,000. But that is not a bad thing, as parking remains an

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issue, space is limited and students have to meet higher academic standards to get in.

Enrollment should continue to climb, however, as a new science center gets built in the years ahead and the college at last finds its niche in the state's public higher education system.

MCLA continues to be a vital part of the North Berkshire economy and in recent years, especially, has increased its involvement in the local community through extensive volunteer programs and Gallery 51 in downtown North Adams.

North Berkshire is blessed to have two important colleges in its midst, the ever-prestigious Williams College and the irrepressible and growing MCLA, both of which have proud legacies and a history of students who establish lifelong ties to the region.

Welcome back, students. We're very glad you're here.