CSU to freeze spring 2013 enrollment

Only students with an associate transfer degree will be admitted in Cal State universities for spring 2013.  CSU will deny incoming freshman admission to all of its schools and admit only a few hundred transfer students in eight schools: Channel Islands, Chico, Easy Bay, Fullerton, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Bernardino and Sonoma.

Citrus currently offers AA-T’s in speech communication, sociology, psychology, administrative justice, math and early childhood communication.

The AA-T in English is under review in the chancellor’s office and Citrus is working on adding history, physics, business, studio art and elementary education by the end of the year, according to Dr. David Kary, astronomy professor.

An AA-T guarantees you admission in at least one of the eight schools, Kary said.

“A transfer degree may not guarantee you the CSU of your choice but it does guarantee you admission in at least one,” Kary said.

Cal State campuses usually admit 16,000 students for spring and 20,000-25,000 students in the fall.

Students who choose to wait until fall 2013 to transfer to a CSU face the possibility of being wait-listed if Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tax initiative, aimed at preventing further school budget cuts, is rejected by voters on the November ballot.

“I think every student should either vote for the initiative or take their own initiative and write to legislators or pay them a visit,” said Justina Rivadeneyra, career and transfer coordinator.  

Since CSU’s will not be accepting incoming freshman, it is possible more freshman could be enrolling in community colleges, said Dr. Samuel Lee, dean of enrollment and language arts.  

However, Lee said that he is more worried about the effects it will have on students planning to transfer to a CSU.

“Those students are going to be set back in their progress and be stuck waiting,” Lee said.  “There will be no reason for them to stay in school during that time, but I would suggest that they take any other classes that go toward their major.”

It may be time to look at alternatives to CSU, such as UC, private, or out-of-state colleges and universities, Rivadeneyra said.

An average of 534 Citrus students during each of the past five years have transferred to a CSU while an average of 73 students have transferred to a UC over the same period, according to the Office of Institutional Research.  

UC campuses require the same inter-segmental general education transfer curriculum as CSU.  Seven UC campuses – Davis, Irvine, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz – participate in the Transfer Admission Guarantee program, which, if the requirements to receive TAG are complete, guarantee your spot at the UC you apply to.

From 2007-09, the earliest dated data provided by IR, an average of 120 students transfer to out of state schools, and 367 transferred to an in-state private school, according to OIR data.

“With the budget cuts, it’s making it hard to finish school even when you get to a CSU,” Rivadeneyra said.  “That and the rise of tuition and fees make private and out-of-state colleges more attractive.”

California is one of 15 states comprising the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, which allows students to transfer to a university in a member state and still pay the price of in-state tuition.

“My kids made it under the wire,” Lee said.  “But if they were transferring next year I would strongly suggest sending them to an out of state school through this [WICHE].”

“It’s more important than ever to meet with a counselor,” Rivadeneyra said.

Learn more about requirements and the states and schools part of WICHE by meeting with a counselor or visiting http://www.wiche.edu/ca.

Find out more about the UC TAG by visiting their website: http://uctag.universityofcalifornia.edu/ or meeting with a counselor.