The association representing Ontario's 24 community colleges says enrolment of first-year full-time students has increased for the third straight year.

More than 113,000 students joined first-year full-time programs this year, an increase of seven per cent compared to 2008, according to figures released Thursday by Colleges Ontario.

This comes after enrolment increased 5.6 per cent last year and six per cent in 2007, the association said.

The province's 24 colleges have a combined enrolment of more than 200,000 full-time and 350,000 part-time students.

There is a growing demand for college grads despite the economic downturn, said Colleges Ontario CEO Linda Franklin. College programs are a popular option for many university graduates.

The Ontario government should do more to make it easier for prospective students to enrol in both kinds of post-secondary institutions, Franklin said.

"Ontario must develop a transparent system to allow college and university students to transfer completed post-secondary credits and gain improved access to higher education," she said in a release.