C.W. Post Enrolls Largest Freshman Class in 20 Years

Brookville, NY – Nine-hundred fifty freshmen will hit the books this Fall at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University making it the largest freshman class at the campus in 20 years. Although classes are not scheduled to begin until September 7, the campus has established a waiting list for any additional Fall 2004 freshman applicants.

Campus officials also noted the quality of this year’s freshman class, who are beginning their studies as the campus prepares for its 50th anniversary celebration. “This class is large, diverse and academically outstanding,” said Gary R. Bergman, the Associate Provost for Enrollment Services at C.W. Post. More than 45% of the new freshmen are receiving academic scholarships that recognize high SAT scores and noted academic achievement.

“The total number of academic scholarship recipients has risen dramatically from 267 students last year to 431 this September,” said Bergman.  In addition, the campus’s nationally acclaimed and rigorous Honors Program has increased its enrollment for the Fall by 45%.  The class also includes more than 110 freshmen who took college-level courses while still in high school as part of the C.W. Post SCALE Program.

The freshman class was capped at 950 in order to ensure that the campus’s noted small classes (which average only 18 students) and its personalized services are maintained, said Bergman. The 2004 Fall freshman class jumped by 107 students over the 2003 entering class, a 13% increase.

The campus’s eight residence halls are also filled to capacity with 1,700 students. There is a waiting list for campus housing and the university has made arrangements for housing nearby the campus to accommodate students who apply for housing in August.

University officials attribute the boom in enrollment to the construction of new facilities, elite accreditations, new degree programs as well a nationally recognized career placement center. In 2002, the campus opened an $18 million recreation center, which receives 63,000 student visits each year, and invested $60 million renovating its library, student dining hall, science labs and classrooms. In the Fall, the campus will open the College of Management Learning Center and, in 2005, a former campus gymnasium will reopen as a state-of-the-art classroom building and film studio. In January, the campus launched Long Island’s only bachelor’s degree in forensic science and enrollment for that program is reaching close to 50 students for the Fall semester.

More than 200 of the new freshmen are enrolled in the Access Program, a comprehensive career and academic counseling program for students undecided about their major.  Other freshmen have chosen majors such as teacher education, psychology, criminal justice, business administration, forensic science, accounting, biology, film, electronic media (broadcasting), physical education and music education.

“We are seeing a record number of students enrolling from Nassau, Suffolk and Queens counties,” said Bergman. The class also includes students from 38 states and 48 foreign countries. In addition to the freshman class, the C.W. Post Campus is expected to enroll more than 600 new transfer students and 900 new graduate students. Transfer and graduate students can still enroll for the Fall semester.