Cal Lutheran Starts School Year With Mostly In-Person Classes

California Lutheran University will mark a return to nearly all in-person classes next week because of high vaccination rates among its employees and students prior to the start of the school year, the Thousand Oaks school announced this week.In May, Cal Lutheran became one of the first universities to announce a vaccine requirement. Now, about 93 percent of employees and 87 percent of students who will be on-campus are fully vaccinated. Those who have medical or religious exemptions are required to test weekly, while all on-site individuals must complete daily health checks.More than 500 first-year students and 175 transfer students are entering Cal Lutheran this year, with total undergraduate enrollment of more than 2,600. Despite travel restrictions, vaccine scarcity and other challenges, 55 international students from 30 countries are joining the university in the fall.“Students are moving mountains to get here,” Dane Rowley, director of international admission, said in a statement. “These are incredibly resilient people.”More than 1,200 students moved into campus housing starting Aug. 26. One residence hall has been allocated and designated for quarantine and three houses will be used for isolation.