CSUN President Dianne Harrison announced a proposal on Monday that would enact enrollment impaction on undergraduate programs beginning in the fall 2016 semester.

The stated goal of impaction, which is a method used by campuses to control the amount of students enrolled in a major or on campus overall, is to reduce CSUN’s undergraduate population by 300 students each year for four years.

“We are at the point where we must change how we manage our enrollment in order to align with the mandate from the CSU system,” Harrison wrote in an email.

Under the proposed changes, four majors – psychology, kinesiology, music and cinema and television arts – would have different entrance requirements, as well as a different local admissions area for both prospective freshman and transfer students.

“California became a great state because of free education,” Professor Alexis Krasilovsky, who teaches screenwriting and film studies, said when asked about the proposal. “It’s tragic if tax payers and legislators continue to turn their backs on the students whose education will help all of us advance.”

Beginning in 2017, other departments would have the option to impact their majors as well.

“That’s the main reason why I came here, because they had my major,” said Aileen Salas, a freshman majoring in biology. “[Impaction] would have made going to college more difficult for me.”

Public meetings on the topic will be held at various locations next month. The first will take place at CSUN on March 5 at 6 p.m.