Cal State Dominguez Hills May Limit Enrollment Next Spring

Cal State Dominguez Hills will wait until the end of its application period in December before deciding whether to close enrollment for next year’s spring semester, university officials said Friday.

The university will accept up to 2,600 new students next spring, school officials said. However, if the number of spring applicants exceeds that figure, the school might adopt an unprecedented cap on enrollment, said James Hartman, associate vice president and dean of enrollment services.

“We’re trying to get the message out to people to apply early,” Hartman said.

The deadline for applications is Dec. 2. The school has already attracted 1,000 applicants for the spring semester--a 36% increase over the number at this time last year. The school has traditionally accepted late applications for the spring semester, but that policy could also end.

The university’s enrollment, which swelled to an all-time high of 10,346 students this semester, is nearly 10% greater than last fall and is projected to grow by another 10% next fall.

The school has grown in popularity partly because of an influx of freshman and transfer students who have been turned away from other crowded schools.

Additionally, state funding has not kept pace with the growth, forcing administrators to cancel 120 classes this fall and lay off 30 part-time faculty members.