Despite numerous budget cuts the California State University system has experienced in the past few years, the Fall 2013 application cycle is on track to set another CSU record for applications received.

The CSU system received 368,157 at the halfway point of the application process, an increase of about 7 percent from the same time last year. This number is expected to double after the final count of the priority application period is calculated on November 30. Transfer applications lead with 113,520 submitted, the highest number of applicants.

A number of factors have contributed to the rise in applications for next fall’s enrollment, because of demographics in California and a demand for higher education, including, outreach efforts, partnerships with community colleges and the K-12 systems, CSU Media Relations Specialist Erik Fallis said.

Because of a continuous decrease in state funding, the CSU closed Spring 2013 enrollment to most students and isn’t processing any applications from new students pending the outcome of Proposition 30, which had a direct impact on funded enrollment targets.

Because Proposition 30 passed, CSU campuses can admit 10,000
to 15,000 more students than otherwise possible.

“Something to keep in mind: it is not that the CSU is getting additional funding—and in fact we are not in the current year—all we are doing is avoiding potential loss in funding,” Fallis said. “Proposition 30 is important because it stopped the bleeding, but it doesn’t actually restore the CSU and it certainly doesn’t fill in that billion dollar hole that the state has cut in the last five years.”

This reflects the CSU system’s struggle to meet the demand for higher education with decreased state funding support.

The CSU was designed to admit the top one-third of graduating high school students and the students who come from community colleges.

This year’s application record is not necessarily a benefit for the CSU system. At the moment, there are more applicants than the CSU system can serve indicating the state has not lived up to its commitment in the CSU Academic Master Plan for higher education. CSU’s ideal situation would be to admit all qualified students, Fallis said.

The record number of applications does not mean a larger freshman class for Fall 2013. What drives enrollment are the resources available to provide students with a quality education.

“The major lesson to take away from this higher application number is that there is a lot of pent-up demand in California for a CSU education and it is a demand that the CSU
cannot meet based on its current funding,” Fallis said.