Cal State To Admit 30,000 For Spring, Winter Terms
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- California State University plans to admit up to 30,000 new students for the 2011 winter and spring terms after closing admissions to most applicants last year because of state budget cuts, CSU officials said Monday.
The 23-campus system began mailing out acceptance letters Monday even though lawmakers and the governor still haven't approved a state budget for the fiscal year that began nearly three months ago.
"We remain optimistic that the Legislature is committed to higher education and that the final budget will restore the necessary funding to the CSU," Chancellor Charles Reed said in a statement. "The restoration of funding is vital to allow us to serve these students."
CSU officials are moving forward with admissions for the 2010 winter and spring terms because state lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have said they are committed to restoring $366 million in funding to the CSU system, said spokesman Mike Uhlenkamp.
The university has also received $106 million in one-time funding from the federal stimulus package that will be used to increase enrollment and restore cut classes.
CSU campuses expect to receive about 50,000 applications, mostly from community college transfer students, for the 2011 spring and winter terms.
Last year, the university closed winter and spring admissions to most students following an unprecedented reduction in state funding that led to enrollment cuts, employee furloughs and steep fee increases.
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