Cal State Gives Warm Welcome to Students Left Out in Freeze

Reaching out to students shortchanged a year ago by the state’s budget crisis, Cal State Channel Islands is now welcoming some of those who had previously been barred from admission by a state-ordered enrollment freeze.

The Camarillo campus is among several in the Cal State system now accepting applications from prospective students seeking a second bachelor’s degree.

Other campuses also are accepting lower-division and upper-division transfer students who have not yet completed all the requirements for university admission.

Students in all of those categories were excluded for the current school year as Cal State officials instituted a systemwide enrollment cap in anticipation of severe budget cuts. The cuts didn’t go as deep as initially feared, allowing officials to lift the freeze for the spring and fall semesters.

That’s good news at Cal State Channel Islands and other campuses where the restrictions forced admissions officers to turn away qualified candidates.

“We have had many requests to admit students who already have a bachelor’s degree, but due to last year’s enrollment rollbacks caused by state budget cuts, we were unable to admit them,” said Jane Sweetland, Channel Island’s dean of enrollment services.

“We want to get the word out that there’s room for new students,” Sweetland said. “Our goal is to serve every student in this area who wants to come to a public, four-year university.”

Officials expect to have room this spring for 400 to 500 new students. And they estimate that there will be space for about 1,100 new students in the fall.

Though freshmen and eligible transfer students will still have priority for admission, Cal State Channel Islands officials said they are excited to be opening the process to other students as well.

“We are trying to get the word out so we are consistent with the message that is embedded in why this university was established,” Channel Islands President Richard Rush said. “We want to say to people in this region, ‘This is your university. We have room and we can serve you.’ ”

Not every campus is open to new admissions, and even some of those that have room continue to restrict enrollment. A complete list of campuses still accepting applications for the spring and fall semesters is at www.csumentor.edu.

At Cal State Northridge, admission is closed to freshmen for the fall. But officials are accepting applications for the spring and fall semesters for lower-division transfer students and students seeking a second bachelor’s degree.

The Northridge campus also is accepting applications from upper-division transfers who have not taken all of their required core classes or met the 60-unit threshold for university admission. For the spring and fall, a transfer student with just 56 units can apply.