Students Head Back To School At Central Lakes College

School is back in session at Central Lakes College this week. The comprehensive community and technical college welcomed around 2,500 students through its doors for the fall semester.

A new student orientation day was held last Friday which allowed new students and their families to get acquainted with CLC and the programs it has to offer. The event was the best attended new student orientation day they have had since the school’s inception.

“It’s great to have students on campus, and so I think having that day and having all those students and parents and families attend really help make the first two days go pretty smoothly for students on campus here,” said Paul Preimesberger, Dean of Enrollment Management and Student Success at CLC. “But just in case, we had people stationed all over the campus to help direct students to courses and answer any questions they might have.”

CLC has a few new things to offer this year including new hybrid courses, certificate programs, and a University Center. They are also adding new “transfer pathways” in Psychology and Economics that allow students to transfer the Associates Degree that they receive at CLC seamlessly to a Minnesota State University.

“We think we offer programs that meet a number of student needs and, you know, at any of our registration sessions when I start listing our resources, our programs, all the great people we have here on campus, all the experiences that students can take advantage of,” added Preimesberger. “We really think of ourselves as offering a four-year experience at a two-year college.”

Enrollment at Central Lakes College is up 1% this semester. The college is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year since being established in 1938.