CLU welcomes its largest freshman class

California Lutheran University is preparing for the arrival of its largest freshman class ever. The university expects 455 firstyear students, a 4 percent increase over last year. Since 2003, the number of freshmen has increased by 22 percent.

More than 2,100 undergraduate students will begin fall semester classes on Wed., Aug. 29. More than 1,000 graduate and credential students will also start classes in August on the main campus, at the graduate centers in Oxnard and Woodland Hills, and online.

This year saw a 25 percent increase in the number of applications to 2,500, said Matt Ward, dean of undergraduate enrollment.

Ward said the increase in applicants is the result of additional outreach in the local community and efforts to increase awareness of the university worldwide. The recent opening of the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center, Samuelson Aquatics Center and George "Sparky" Anderson Baseball Field also helped boost applications.

This freshman class is more diverse in ethnicity and socioeconomic background than in past years, with the biggest gains in Latino and Asian students. The number of international students in the freshman class more than doubled.

New student orientation for undergraduates will be from Sat., Aug. 25 through Tues., Aug. 28. Dormitory residents will check in from 8 a.m. to noon Aug. 25 at the Pederson Basketball Courts.

The President's Welcome will be at 1 p.m. in the Gilbert Sports and Fitness Center and a Class of 2011 photograph will be taken at 2 p.m. at the Flagpole Plaza.

The annual painting of the CLU letters on Mount Clef Ridge is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. Aug. 26.

New students will spend Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 28, participating in a "You Got Served" orientation service project. About 200 students will go to Malibu Canyon to spruce up Camp Mount Crags and Camp Gilmore, which are run by the Salvation Army for disadvantaged youths.

Other projects include removing nonnative vegetation from the Redondo Beach bluffs and Malibu's Zuma Canyon, helping TreePeople tend plantings at a Los Angeles elementary school and repairing the YMCA Conejo Valley site.