Three schools in the California State University (CSU) system
are the first to have enrollment adversely affected by state budget
cuts, and some officials say this is just the beginning of a much
larger trend.
Most CSU schools accept students who turn in applications after
the posted deadline, with the exception of five
“impacted” campuses that have a strict applications
cut-off date of Nov. 30.
The impacted campuses are forced to adhere to such a rigid
deadline because there are more qualified students applying to CSUs
than there is space to accommodate them.
Recent budget cuts, however, have forced three additional CSU
schools ““ California State Polytechnic Institute, Pomona, CSU
Fullerton and CSU San Marcos ““ to join the list of impacted
campuses, bringing the total number of impacted schools to
eight.
Students who want to go to these campuses are being advised to
apply before the deadline of Nov. 30, since no further applications
will be accepted after that date, even if a student qualifies for
admission.
Clara Potes-Fellow, a spokeswoman for CSU, said the tightened
deadline was a necessary step
“We cannot accommodate more students, since we do not have
sufficient funding, and so (we are forced) to implement more strict
cut-off dates at this point,” Potes-Fellow said.
She added that even though the CSU system is the first to be
seriously affected by the budget crisis, the University of
California and even community colleges will probably follow.
“We (at CSU) admit more students and have more students
applying, and so we are obviously getting hit first. “¦ But
there will be a domino effect, with UCs being affected as
well,” she said.
Furthermore, Potes-Fellow said it is possible there will be many
students unable to apply to the CSU, UC or community college
systems due to lack of space and resources.
This could lead some students to attend private universities,
and leave those who are unable to pay for private schools without
any means of pursuing higher education.
“It could happen. There will be many students with no
place to go,” Potes-Fellow said.
Currently, the UC regents are considering curbing enrollment
growth as part of a package of ways to deal with over $410 million
in budget cuts last year. However, they are waiting for the new
budget to come out in January before making a final decision.
Hanan Eisenman, spokesman for the UC Office of the President,
said the regents are currently being presented with many possible
options, including program cuts, research cuts or enrollment
restrictions, but before January they cannot make a decision.
The CSU system faces a $304 million budget cut this year and a
freeze on enrollment growth for next year, which means many CSU
campuses cannot expand enough to accommodate the projected increase
in their number of students.
Paula Selleck, spokeswoman for CSU Fullerton, said the school
has had to limit enrollment in order to benefit those students
already enrolled.
“We do not want to take in any more students than we can
serve. Our priority is preserving academic integrity for students
already here,” Selleck said.
She added that the enrollment restrictions were necessary due to
the rise in demand.
“The state budget crisis created a significant challenge
for us. Seats in classes are becoming more and more
precious,” Selleck said.
She also said this year, Fullerton had record enrollment
numbers, consistent with an increasing enrollment trend the school
has had for years.
However, the university is unable to expand fast enough to meet
the demand since it is short on funding.
Potes-Fellow also said admissions numbers will definitely suffer
due to the budget crisis.
“Students will be denied access. In order to do that,
campuses have to be very focused on their enrollment target. (We)
cannot go over,” she said.