The Sacramento Bee
By Deia de Brito
Published: 7/8/2010

Sacramento State University must reduce its enrollment by 10.8 percent by fall 2011.

Sac State officials plan to lower enrollment by 2,500 in order to reach a target of 20,482, and will begin implementing some reductions as soon as this fall.

CSUS is just one of many larger California State University campuses forced to reduce student enrollment. Lori Varlotta, vice president for student affairs, said the state university system will see a total reduction of 32,000 students system-wide.

“If we didn’t change anything, it looked like we were going to have enrollment of 4 to 6 percent above target,” said campus spokesman John Kepley. Campus officials plan to more strictly adhere to admission rules and reduce the number of students from outside the Sacramento region.

Students from high schools and community colleges in Sacramento, Placer, Yolo, El Dorado, Solano, and San Joaquin counties will likely be guaranteed admission if they meet criteria but students from outside counties will face more competition.

“If you are coming from outside the region, you will have slightly stricter criteria to your application file,” said Varlotta. The specific criteria have not yet been determined, but will likely involve higher G.P.A. scores.

Varlotta said 85-90 percent of Sacramento State University students hail from the region’s six counties. The rest are mostly from California, and 2.5 percent are from outside of California and abroad.

“Our students overwhelming come from our six counties. Students from outside those counties are still encouraged to apply,” said Varlotta, adding that sudents from counties outside those counties should start applying during the priority filing period in the fall for a better edge.

Varlotta said school officials will spend the entire year communicating with high school and community college campuses on the program’s impact.