MISSION VIEJO : Enrollment Doubles at New CSUF Branch

Enrollment has doubled at a Cal State Fullerton satellite campus in South County, leading university administrators to declare the new facility a success.

The campus opened last fall with 384 students, and officials say that spring semester enrollment will be between 700 and 800 students.

“There is such a demand for classes and programs in South County, we had projected doubling enrollment (for the spring) and it will probably double again in the fall,” said George Giacumakis, director of the Mission Viejo campus. “I’d say this proves the trend toward greater demands for higher education in South Orange County.”

After nearly 10 years of planning, the university opened a branch campus on the grounds of Saddleback College. Last year, more than 4,000 Cal State Fullerton students commuted from the South County area, Giacumakis said.

“We have had so many other students say that if they didn’t have to drive 30 to 35 miles to Fullerton, they would take classes with us,” he added.

Students enrolled at the Mission Viejo campus take advanced courses in business, communications, computer science, mathematics and social science.

The jump in enrollment frees the university to proceed with plans to expand the satellite campus, Giacumakis said. University officials will now consider building a 75,000-square-foot building on the Saddleback campus, he said.

Eventually, university officials hope to enroll up to 4,000 students at the branch campus.

This summer, the extension campus will be renovating another structure now being used by Saddleback. The building should be ready for the spring semester in 1991, Giacumakis said.