Cal State Lowers Enrollment Growth

Why Cal State University will likely be turning 10,000 potential students away this fall

Enrollment growth at California State University will be cut by half this fall -- from 20,000 to about 10,000 additional students -- after state funding fell short of expectations, according to a report.

California's final budget agreement assumes a lower level of revenue and puts the system's funding increase at $142 million, the same as committed to the University of California. Cal State had hoped for a funding boost of $237 million, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The 23-campus university system received about 761,000 applications for the fall 2014 term -- an increase of 14,000, representing about 2 percent.

The revised budget will accommodate 9,900 additional students, meaning about 10,000 would be turned away, the Times said.

The assessment was presented Tuesday to the Board of Trustees at its regular meeting in Long Beach.

Cal State Chancellor Timothy White spoke about the difficulty of balancing access with the need to provide academic support to current students.

"From an integrity point of view, when we open our doors, we want to be able to serve that student. If that means we have to leave another qualified student out, we need to do that, as tough as that may be," White said.

Meanwhile officials with the University of California system said Tuesday that the number of new students from other states and nations will continue to increase this fall.

The percentage of all new UC freshmen who come from outside California is expected to be 20.2 percent -- up from 18.3 percent last year and 15.5 percent the year before, the Times said.

Among the nine UC undergraduate campuses, the percentages are the highest at UCLA with 30.1 percent and UC Berkeley with 29.8 percent.

However, UC officials say that the rise in new out-of-state students is not reducing the ranks of California freshmen.

Administrators say that the $23,000 that nonresidents pay annually on top of the regular $12,192 tuition helps support classes and financial aid for Californians.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us