Aug. 13, 2014

Freshmen arrive at VCU for 2014-15 academic year

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By Mike Porter

Virginia Commonwealth University’s incoming freshman class will begin to arrive on campus this weekend and move into student residence halls as the university launches its annual Welcome Week schedule of activities.

Reuban Rodriguez, Ed.D., associate vice provost and dean of student affairs at VCU, will be available for media interviews about move-in days and the opening of the academic year from 10 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16, in front of Brandt Hall, at the corner of Laurel and Franklin streets.

VCU will enroll an estimated 31,000 students this fall. This year’s freshman class is expected to be approximately 3,600 students.

About 88 percent of VCU’s freshman class is from Virginia, including 23 percent from Northern Virginia, 20 percent from the Richmond Metro area, 20 percent from north central Virginia and 20 percent from the Tidewater area.

Minority students represent 47 percent of the freshman class, with another 2 percent of the class being international students.

VCU will enroll about 2,200 transfer students, which includes about 1,400 students from the Virginia Community College System.

Freshmen will move in on Saturday and Sunday, beginning at 8:30 a.m. each day. Traffic congestion is expected in the areas near VCU’s student residence halls on both Saturday and Sunday and nearby street parking will be blocked.

In order to ensure safety and order as students move into residence halls, the following streets will have travel restrictions or will be closed:

·    Franklin Street: Traffic will be reduced to one travel lane between Harrison and Belvidere streets
·    Main Street: Traffic will be reduced to one travel lane between Belvidere and Laurel streets
·    Laurel Street: The street will be closed to through traffic between W. Franklin and W. Grace streets
·    Pine Street: The street will be closed to through traffic between W. Cary and W. Main streets

Traffic restrictions and closures will be in effect on Friday, Aug. 15 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 16 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 17 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.