NORTHRIDGE : Enrollment in CSUN Summer Classes Up

Enrollment for the first session of summer quarter at Cal State Northridge has jumped significantly this year, a change some attribute to students’ eagerness to get their degrees before tuition increases price them out of school.

CSUN summer session coordinator Sari Small said Monday that early estimates for the number of students enrolled in session one, which began June 7, appear to be up about 12% over last year.

Small cautioned that it’s too early to know if the trend will hold; once enrollment for all three summer sessions offered at CSUN is calculated, the average increase may be closer to 6%, she said.

Still, Rodney Lazar, vice president of the Associated Students, said he is not surprised that summer school appears more popular this year. Students are flocking to classes so they can “get out quicker,” he said.

“They see the fees going up and they see no end to it,” he said.

Lazar also said the increase may be a consequence of limited space in community colleges, which have reduced summer offerings due to budget cuts. Pierce College, for example--where many CSUN students traditionally pick up additional credits at lower cost--has only about half the slots for summer students it had last summer, and gave priority to its own students, said Ina Geller, spokeswoman for Pierce.

Small said CSUN’s enrollment for session one is estimated at 5,471 students, although it will be several more weeks before a final number is calculated. Enrollment for CSUN’s session one last year was 4,918, she said.

Session one is the largest of three overlapping summer sessions CSUN offers. Early estimates for the second session is that enrollment may fall, bringing down the overall summer average, Small said. Last year, overall summer enrollment at CSUN increased by about 5% over the previous year, Small said. Prior to that, summer enrollment had been inching upward by about 2% per year for the past several years, even as year-round enrollment at CSUN has been declining, said Small.