CSUN is expected to turn away more than 1,000 students enrolling for fall 2009, CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed said Friday.

Reed held a conference call on Friday to discuss the issue and what it means to the CSU system.

After the CSU declared a ‘system-wide impaction’ for its first time in history on Thursday, the CSU said it is expected to turn away about 10,000 students in the 23-campus system.
Reed said because the state of California faces an $11.2 billion budget deficit, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the state Legislature has to cut about $97 million from the CSU budget.

The $97.3 million budget cut comes after Gov. Schwarzenegger proposed a $66.3 million mid-year budget cut in addition to a $31.3 million one-time cut that was approved by the Board of Trustees in October, said the CSU.

‘We cannot continue to enroll students will less and less money,’ Reed said. ‘Nobody likes cuts but if you don’t have the money something has to go.”

Reed said priority enrollment for next fall will be given to students who already enrolled at a CSU, are transferring from a community college or enroll at the CSU nearest their service area.

First-time freshmen will have to meet a certain criteria in order to enroll next fall, Reed said. They will also have to show a higher grade point average and higher SAT scores than the regular CSU requirements in order to be accepted into a CSU, Reed said.

CSUN Provost Harry Hellenbrand said first-time freshmen enrolling at CSUN for fall 2009 will have to meet regular CSU requirements.

‘GPA is not much of an indicator,’ Hellenbrand said.

Hellenbrand said the expected 1,000 students to be turned away from CSUN is a ‘rough number.’

‘It can be moved down four or five percent,’ Hellenbrand said.’

Nine CSU campuses, including CSUN, will end enrollment for fall 2009 on Nov. 30 as enrollment is up about 20 percent from this time last year.

The University of California also faces mid-year budget cuts. The UC Regents indicate the state reduced its operating support for UC by $48 million for the current 2008-2009 fiscal year and Gov. Schwarzenegger has also proposed an additional $65.5 million mid-year budget cut to the UC system.

‘The situation we face is serious, and some very tough choices are ahead of us,’ said UC President Mark G. Yudof.

BUDGET CUTS BY THE NUMBERS

1,000 incoming students to be turned away by CSUN
10,000 students total will be denied enrollment at CSUs
$11.2 billion deficit in California state budget

BUDGET CUTS BY THE MATH

$66.3 million mid-year CSU budget cut
$31.3 million one-time cut in October

CSU’S TOTAL LOSS: $97.3 million