State Budget Crunch Looms : No Growth Seen in ’89 for Cal State Fullerton

An unexpectedly tight state budget may force Cal State Fullerton into a second straight year of deliberate no growth, a university official said Tuesday. The university, which has about 24,400 students, had previously put the brakes on admissions to allow for no increase in enrollment this September.

The new state budget, with less money than expected, may now force Cal State Fullerton to again limit enrollment in September, 1989, to no growth, said Jack W. Coleman, vice president for academic affairs, in an interview Tuesday.

Back-to-back years of no growth at the university would make it considerably harder for Orange County high school graduates and community college transfers to enter the university, which is the largest in the county.

Cal State Fullerton’s announcement about prospects of no growth came on the heels of UC Irvine’s prediction last week that it may further restrict new admissions next year because of the state budget crunch.

Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine are the only state-supported four-year universities in Orange County. A tightening of enrollment by both universities next year would worsen the situation for college-bound Orange County students seeking a four-year public institution within commuting distance.

Coleman said Cal State Fullerton is considering a second year of no growth in admissions unless the Legislature later this year adds more money to the university’s budget. “I think our concern is whether this (budget shortfall) is a temporary or permanent phenomenon,” Coleman said.

“Our concern is for quality education. If the phenomenon is not temporary and the budget doesn’t recover, we could not offer the students the proper quality of education. To ensure quality, we would have to adjust enrollment.”

Coleman said Cal State Fullerton had earlier this year imposed a no-growth policy for this September. He said the university expects to have about 24,400 students this September--virtually the same enrollment as last year. The campus needed a year of no growth because it had previously allowed admission of more students than its budget could sustain, he said.

But he said Cal State Fullerton had hoped to allow growth to resume in September, 1989, as it has for virtually every year since the campus opened in 1959.

Coleman’s outlook parallels the forecast made Friday by UC Irvine Chancellor Jack W. Peltason. Peltason said “inadequate funding” for the University of California system in the state budget may force UCI to cut back its enrollment in September, 1989, to its 1987 levels.

Cuts Threatened

At issue for both universities is the state budget signed into law July 9 by Gov. George Deukmejian. The budget, which reflects spending cuts made by both the governor and the Legislature, gave the California State University system a 2.8% increase over the previous year and the UC system about a 3% increase. Officials of both systems said the budget increases are below the costs of paying for increases in the number of students.

UC President David P. Gardner last week threatened to cut back UC enrollment at all campuses next year to 1987 levels.

Chancellor Ann Reynolds, who heads all 19 campuses of the California State University system, said she is thinking of an enrollment cutback in 1989. “Although budget cuts will not impact student enrollment this year, it may do so in 1989-90 if funding doesn’t improve,” she said.

Another CSU system official, Dale Hanner, vice chancellor for business affairs, said the new state budget represents a loss in per-student funding over last year once new enrollment and inflation are factored in. “We’re looking at a 6% loss in financial support per FTE (full-time equivalent student),” Hanner said.

Deukmejian has said he will urge the Legislature to add a total of $38 million to the UC and CSU budgets when the Legislature reconvenes in August. Addition of that money would keep the CSU system from having to face problems such as staff layoffs. “We want to avoid wherever possible layoffs or reductions in our faculty and staff, but without relief from Sacramento, this may be unavoidable,” Reynolds said.

At Cal State Fullerton, the unexpectedly small budget increase for 1988-89 means that all the needed new teachers cannot be hired, Coleman said. “Quality suffers in that class sizes cannot be reduced,” he said.

And if there is no budget relief, he added, “I think our target would be to stabilize enrollment, to hold the line to about where it is now.”

Increased Difficulties

Coleman said the second year of no growth would mean increased difficulties for Orange County high school graduates. “I would add that it would not only be harder for Orange County high school graduates to enter (Cal State Fullerton), but it would also be harder for community college students seeking to transfer to this campus.”

He noted that Cal State Fullerton also suffered a blow in this year’s state budget when the governor vetoed about $600,000 earmarked to start a new south Orange County satellite campus for it. That satellite campus is planned on unused land of Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. Deukmejian, in his veto message, said he had to blue pencil the satellite because the Legislature had spent more money than the state would generate this fiscal year.

“While we can understand why it (the veto) had to happen, it was another unfortunate thing for Cal State Fullerton because we hoped to open the south county campus as a sort of relief valve on our enrollment,” Coleman said. University officials had said they expected about 300 students the first year at the proposed Mission Viejo campus.

Money to start the satellite campus will be sought from the 1989 Legislature, according to California State University system officials.