Sonoma State, S.F. State Among 10 CSUs Accepting Spring Applications

California State University campuses at Sonoma and San Francisco are among just 10 state universities that are accepting applications for spring 2013 admissions, the chancellor's office announced.

In past years, nearly all of the CSU's 23 campuses were able to offer spring admissions and accepted between 16,000 and 18,000 transfer students, chancellor's office spokesman Mike Uhlenkamp said.

However, system-wide budget cuts and the looming prospect of a $250 million "trigger cut" — which will be automatically activated if the Proposition 30 tax initiative on the November ballot fails to pass — are forcing school administrators to make plans to accept fewer students at CSU campuses, Uhlenkamp said.

"The budget cuts have forced us to pare down our enrollment to match available funding," he said. Only students who have earned an associate degree for transfer from a California community college — a special degree that was introduced in 2010 — will be able to apply to limited campuses for spring admission, Uhlenkamp said.

It was not immediately known how many students would be eligible, he said, but the total would be far more restricted than the number accepted in spring 2011.

The application period opens Aug. 1 and extends through Aug. 31. CSU campuses that will accept applications for eligible students are: Channel Islands, Chico, Fullerton, East Bay, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Bernardino, Sonoma and San Francisco.

If Proposition 30 fails to pass, further reductions to enrollment could be made, officials said.

The CSU Board of Trustees is expected to adopt a contingency plan at a September meeting, which could include a mid-year tuition increase, enrollment reductions, and payroll reductions.

— Bay City News Service