IRVINE

Better teachers, more money and a growing interest in higher education: Those are the reasons Concordia University officials cite for a 58% increase in applications this year.

While the school received 674 applications last year, 1,055 prospective students have expressed interest in the university this time around. And the applications keep coming, school officials said.

The Christian liberal arts college, which opened in 1976, has about 1,500 students, said Gary McDaniel, vice president for enrollment services.

Although the Irvine campus--part of a nationwide network of 10 universities run by the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod--will welcome between 75 and 100 additional students next fall, McDaniel said the increase in applications won’t speed up student growth in the short term.

The university, which raised more than $44 million during the past five years, will begin construction on new student dormitories this summer. Until their completion, students can rent apartments adjacent to the campus, school officials said.