Reprinted from the [San Jose] Mercury News website:
<a href=“http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/education/11390943.htm[/url]”>http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/education/11390943.htm</a>
( edited news article )
Fewer students admitted to CSU
By Becky Bartindale
Mercury News
It is no illusion that it’s become harder to gain admission to a California State University campus. Despite an increase in the number of applications, enrollment in the CSU system for fall 2004 was lower than three years ago.
Severe budget cuts are to blame for the fact that CSU enrolled 12,000 fewer students last fall than in 2001 even though there were 8,000 more high school graduates, says a study released Wednesday by the California Faculty Association (CFA). This downward trend followed a decade of enrollment increases.
…
The CFA report, ``Where Have All the Students Gone,’’ documents some of the ways the budget reductions have affected students:
In the 2002-03 school year, only two of the system's 23 campuses were classified as ``impacted.'' Today, seven campuses -- San Diego, Long Beach, Chico, Fullerton, Pomona, San Marcos and Sonoma -- are impacted. That means demand is so great that higher academic standards are required for students who live outside the campus's immediate area.
By fall 2005, fees will have increased 76 percent for undergraduates and 106 percent for graduates since fall 2002.
Based on enrollment growth over the previous 10 years, the CFA estimates that 24,700 potential students are not being admitted this year and 23,400 will not be admitted next year, because there isn't enough money to serve them. At the same time, applications during the CSU's priority enrollment period for fall 2005 were up 22 percent over the previous year.
To read the CFA's study, go to http://www.calfac.org and click on ``press room.''