SDSU Now Fears Too Few New Enrollees

Publicity about class cuts at San Diego State University and the need to hold down future enrollment has apparently worked too well.

Applications for the fall of 1992 freshman class are down so far from previous levels--as many as 1,500 fewer students than last year at this time--that the university has decided to extend the filing deadline from the usual last day of November--this Saturday--to at least mid-December.

“Our plans are to leave it open at least until we break for the holidays,” said George Hutchinson, director of student outreach services.

“We’re finding a perception among high school students that they can’t get any classes they want if they come here, and that a cap on enrollment means we aren’t going to accept anyone,” he said.

In particular, Hutchinson fears that, proportionately, applications from Latino and black students are down even more.

Hutchinson found that seniors in four English classes at Vista’s Rancho Buena Vista High School, where he talked last week, were all saying the same thing about campus problems.

“Even their teacher prefaced my appearance by saying, ‘Well, you know you can’t get into San Diego State, and you know you can’t get the classes you want,’ ” he said.

As Rick Moore, head of university information services, said, “There’s nervousness among us about a downward enrollment spiral getting out of hand.”

For that reason, Moore and Hutchinson are planning an immediate information campaign at area schools to emphasize that SDSU still wants freshman applicants, and that even a proposed overall enrollment cap to restrict numbers would exempt San Diego County students.

“We’re going to have to do something to get the word out to parents, students and (high school) counselors that the picture is not as bad as the one that has been painted,” Hutchinson said.

“Otherwise, if we don’t get as many freshmen next year as we want, it will throw our course offerings out of balance between lower- and upper-division classes. And, of course, we want a good representation of students at all levels.”

University administrators grew worried after completing a survey earlier this month to see how many students already admitted for the spring semester were still planning to enroll, Hutchinson said.

“We were amazed at the numbers who immediately said they were not going to come to campus because they didn’t feel that classes would be available,” he said. More than 660 classes were cut from this fall’s schedule, and, at the same time, fees were raised 20% at all California State University campuses because of the state’s severe budget deficit.

“But we keep telling them that freshmen get the highest priority and have the first shot at all the many course offerings still available,” Hutchinson said.

Before being told of the priority, as many as a third of the 290 students contacted indicated they might not enroll, Hutchinson said. After they talked with a university counselor, he said, the number dropped. Even so, more than 50 indicated they would not show up.

Madison High School counselor Joanne Sands said a quick head count of the seniors she advises indicates that fewer are applying to SDSU than in previous years.

“Some kids have remarked about the length of time it apparently takes to graduate from State--five years or more--and the hard time to get classes, and just the sheer size,” Sands said. “For other seniors, their ‘backup’ school for college if they don’t get into their ‘dream school’ might now be Mesa or another community college rather than State.”

Patrick Henry High counselor Joe Ogilvie has noticed more questions from seniors about other CSU schools, such as Cal State Northridge or Cal State Stanislaus, “which would give kids a real alternate choice” in terms of size.

“But these are tough economic times, and many kids can’t afford to leave home,” Ogilvie said. “So a lot of students are still thinking about San Diego State, but not with a lot of enthusiasm.”

Counselor Laurie Hull at Point Loma High said she not yet seen a dramatic drop-off in applications to SDSU, “but we’ve let students know of the problems and constraints that they might find out there.”

In addition, Hull’s colleague at Mira Mesa High, Kay Liles, said students considering the community colleges as an option “also realize that those might be just as crowded as San Diego State.”

“It’s a real dilemma for many of our students because most of them, to be frank, want to stay in the San Diego area.”

Hutchinson said the university still hopes that, by extending the deadline for applications, it will receive at least 7,000 of them, the same number as last year. Out of those, slightly less than half, or about 3,200 students, would be expected to show up in the fall.

“But right now, based on the trend, we might only get 2,500 for next year, and that’s not good,” he said.