U.S. News ranks CLU among Best Colleges

It is 18th among regional universities in the West

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CLU showed gains in its average freshman retention rate as a result of several new initiatives including small learning communities for first-year students.

Photo: Brian Stethem

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Sept. 11, 2013) U.S. News & World Report ranked California Lutheran University among the top regional universities in the West for the 19th consecutive year.

CLU is ranked 18th among regional universities in 15 Western states. The rankings were released Tuesday in U.S. News’ 2014 Best Colleges report.

The university’s scores improved in several categories. CLU showed gains in its average freshman retention rate as a result of several new initiatives including small learning communities for first-year students and a retention alert program. CLU also showed gains in reducing the percent of classes with 50 or more students to 1 percent. The score reflecting the alumni-giving rate also increased.

The academic qualifications of incoming students improved, with the SAT scores and percent of freshmen in the top 25 percent of their high school class increasing. But the university also made the list of A-Plus Schools for B Students for the fourth year, showing that admissions policies are flexible enough to allow some students who aren’t at the top of their classes to get in and go on to thrive during their undergraduate years.

With an enrollment of 4,200 students, CLU offers undergraduate and graduate programs within the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Management, Graduate School of Education and Graduate School of Psychology. In addition to its main campus in Thousand Oaks, it has centers for graduate and Bachelor’s Degree for Professionals programs in Oxnard, Woodland Hills and Santa Maria. Members of the CLU student body come from across the nation and around the world and represent a diversity of faiths and cultures.

The latest rankings are posted at usnews.com and will be featured in the “Best Colleges 2014” guidebook that is available online now and will be in stores Sept. 24.

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