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The Cleveland Institute of Art enrolled 192 new students for its fall 2010 semester, the largest group of incoming students in its 128-year history.

“I’m delighted to welcome this large, diverse, and enthusiastic group; we’ll be ‘first years’ together,” said CIA’s new President Grafton Nunes. “I know our admissions counselors logged in thousands of miles and hundreds of visits to reach this many students. In addition to contacting more high school students than ever before, our counselors were better able to tell the CIA story, thanks to new materials developed by our marketing department.”

Enrollment numbers are up in every category with the largest increase in students coming from the Southeastern United States, according to Bob Borden, executive director of admissions and financial aid. Seventy-two students in the incoming class are from outside Ohio, the largest number in the history of the school.

“The admissions counselors and the financial aid staff worked very hard but it’s truly a team effort with involvement from our colleagues from the faculty and marketing. Our success is also attributable to the reputation the school has been built up over several decades,” Borden said.

To ensure that students in the class of 2014 get the same attention that smaller classes have enjoyed, the Office of Academic Services is launching a few new initiatives, according to Director Todd Emery.

New efforts include a freshman lunch early in the semester to introduce students to the many services available to them; a specific academic advisor assigned to each student; enhanced communication with parents; and efforts to help students make more informed decisions about second semester electives.

“We get to know each student on an individual level,” Emery said. “With the larger class, we are making extra efforts to ensure that each student has the best experience possible.”

Image: First-year students critique Foundation program life drawings