Summer at California Lutheran University offers students the opportunity for smaller classes, discounted housing and a different atmosphere than the traditional school year semester.

Veterans coordinator Jeanette Zimmerman, who currently directs the summer program at Cal Lutheran, said students can live on campus for a discounted rate of $110 a week if they are taking a summer course at Cal Lutheran, have an on-campus job, are enrolled in an internship for course credit or live on campus for the full 15 weeks of summer.

“There are not going to be many opportunities to say that you lived in Thousand Oaks for 15 weeks over the summer for less than $1,700 dollars,” said Nathan Fall, director of Housing Operations.

According to the Summer at Cal Lutheran section of the website, there are three sessions when you can take courses. Sessions one and two are approximately four weeks long and session three is approximately eight weeks long.

Zimmerman said these are helpful so students can work around their schedule and pick the session that works best for them.

“For summer courses, it’s convenient and it’s compact. In three weeks you’ve done the equivalent of two months in the traditional undergrad semester,” said Herbert Gooch, who has a doctorate in political science.

Class sizes during the summer sessions are smaller than during the school year.

“In some ways the instruction is more one-on-one. Its much more mellow, because there’s so much less people. The intellectual life of the university itself gets less hectic because there’s less going on,” Gooch said.

Outside of classes, university life can also be less hectic during the summer.

“The biggest difference is the amount of students living on-campus. We go from 1,350 plus undergraduates to 150 to 200 for the summer. And only one building, Trinity Hall this summer houses Cal Lutheran students over the summer months as opposed to all halls on campus during the academic year,” Fall said.

Fall also said there are less parking problems, shorter lines at Starbucks and the offices and the fitness center are accessible without having to plan way ahead.

“It is a fantastic advantage for people who have busy lives,” Gooch said.

Zimmerman said summer is a good time to bond with classes more because there are less outside distractions as compared to the regular school year.

There are three types of students Cal Lutheran works with, Zimmerman said, which are current students, incoming first year students and visiting students.

“Incoming students have the most work to do because they have to figure out what classes they can take, how to register and it’s their first time on campus and we’re trying to give them the best experience possible,” Zimmerman said.

Gooch also said that Cal Lutheran has a deal with University Village across the street where the residents can come in and audit classes over the summer.

“That’s kind of fun because you get a whole different viewpoint on the material,” Gooch said.

Gooch said there is an interesting blend of students in the summer courses.

“It’s a cool time to be on campus. It’s the quiet Cal Lutheran experience,” Zimmerman said.

Rebecca Austin
Staff Writer