An Obama bounce at L.A. campus?

Is it an Obama bump?

Is freshman enrollment at Occidental College skyrocketing because a certain young man from Hawaii started college there 30 years ago?

Or is it just the unintended consequence of an insurance plan of sorts by admissions officers trying to protect the 1,868-student campus in uncertain economic times?

Whatever the reason, Occidental College, a liberal arts school in Eagle Rock, is expected to enroll a freshman class of about 560 this fall -- up 100 students, or 21% -- from last year.

Experts say an increase of that size is unusual during healthy financial seasons, let alone in a recession in which families are more cautious about paying nearly $50,000 a year for tuition, room, board and fees at a private college.

Many people at the campus and in the wider college admissions world cite the publicity Occidental has received in the last year as the school where President Obama, then known as Barry, studied for two years before transferring to Columbia University.

Oxy has promoted that O-O connection, even creating T-shirts noting the coincidence of the school's address at 1600 Campus Road and the White House location at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

"I don't think there is any doubt Oxy is getting a bump from the president," said Bill McClintick, president of the National Assn. for College Admission Counseling.

McClintick said such enrollment increases have occurred occasionally at various colleges, usually linked to athletics in what he and others call the "Flutie Effect." The term refers to an upsurge in Boston College applications after its quarterback Doug Flutie made a famous Hail Mary pass in the last seconds of a 1984 game against the University of Miami. Boston triumphed and Flutie went on to win the Heisman Trophy.

"There is some sort of rock star effect when something positive happens to a place and they get a bump for at least a year or two," McClintick said.

Occidental Admission Dean Vince Cuseo said he could not quantify any Obama effect.

Still, "it certainly hasn't hurt our case," Cuseo said. "I think it raises the image and public relations bar for the institution when you have a recognized figure connected with your college. But the reasons for choosing a school are far more complex than one individual, even if he happens to be the president of the United States."