Budget shortfalls and nearly $1 billion in cuts have motivated the CSU system to take drastic action:
California State University officials made a big announcement on Monday, saying that they plan to freeze enrollment next spring at most campuses and wait-list all applicants the following fall because of budget uncertainty.
The university is moving to reduce enrollment to deal with $750 million in funding cuts already made in the 2011-12 fiscal year and position itself for at least an additional $200-million cut next year if the tax proposal fails.
The Times’ Carla Rivera describes the move as a “high-stakes gambit” that could deny tens of thousands of students access to the state’s largest university system. It also pressures voters to support a tax increase on the November ballot.
The majority of Cal State’s 23 campuses won’t be accepting any new students under the plan. Eight campuses — Channel Islands, Chico, East Bay, Fullerton, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Bernardino and Sonoma — will accept only a few hundred students transferring from community colleges for the spring 2013 semester.
The university aims to reduce overall enrollment by about 3% if trigger cuts are ordered, with 20,000 to 25,000 eligible students turned away in fall 2013, Robert Turnage, Cal State assistant vice chancellor for budget, said Monday in a telephone briefing with reporters.
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