POTSDAM -- Clarkson University is hosting a record number of companies at its fall career fair for its students today.

In fact, so many companies are sending recruiters –154 -- that Clarkson will use the main student dining room to host some of the company booths, while students will take lunch and dinner in a large tent outside the Student Center.

With only about 3,100 undergraduates and 600 graduate students, the organizations registered to attend is a significant number for a school that size, according to the university.

Specifically, employer participation is up 12.4 percent since last fall, and 20 percent from fall 2011.

Of students graduating in Clarkson's Class of 2012 and using the campus career center, 96 percent reported being placed in their field of study or career aspiration in the first year after graduation.

While it remains to be seen exactly how the Class of 2013 fares on the employment market, initial hiring reports are positive and slightly ahead of last year.