California Lutheran University is relocating its Woodland Hills campus this month to a nearby site that’s nearly twice the size. The Thousand Oaks-based university is moving its satellite campus from 21052 Oxnard St. to 5925 De Soto Ave., said Tom Hoener, the university’s assistant vice president of enrollment management. The new campus building spans 13,334 square feet, and features more classrooms, better parking access and equipment and facility upgrades for students and faculty, Hoener said. “The classrooms are going to be state-of-the-art,” he said. “(And) we’ll be able to have more students.” The move comes a year after the Woodland Hills campus added an Adult Degree Evening Program (ADEP) for working adults last fall. About 40 ADEP students are enrolled in the program at the Woodland Hills campus, but the university hopes to increase that to about 200 students in about five years, Hoener said. About 150 students currently are enrolled in programs at the Woodland Hills campus. The university has been working with Pierce College to promote ADEP program to students in the community college’s Program for Accelerated College Education, or PACE, Hoener said. “Pierce College, we’re hoping, will be a big a big feeder for this program,” he said. The university also is targeting students who are looking at California State University, Northridge, but who might have difficulty getting into classes or the school, he said. The new California Lutheran University campus will have eight classrooms and two computer labs that also can serve as classrooms, compared to the current site’s five classrooms and one computer lab, Hoener said. There also will be upgraded computers and projection equipment, more comfortable furniture, such as new desks, and a parking lot designated for the university. At the previous site, students had to share a parking lot with the University of Phoenix. John Larisey, a 58-year-old independent insurance broker who completed the ADEP program, said he is still taking classes in Woodland Hills and at other CLU campuses for his MBA. He said he’s looking forward to having an upgraded campus. “It will give more room,” Larisey said. “The space they currently have is a little tight and some of the classrooms aren’t configured as correctly as they should be.” The previous location’s parking lot often gets crowded at night, he said, noting the new lot will be much more convenient. Relocating the campus increases the university’s visibility, since De Soto Avenue is a busy thoroughfare and an exit for the 101 freeway, Hoener said. Staying close to the previous campus also was important, he said. “(CLU) has been in that neighborhood in different locations for at least 25 years,” he said.
University Moves Woodland Hills Campus, Doubles Size
