In what marks the seventh year of snowballing growth for online college planning and applications, the California State University received nearly 50 percent more online applications for fall 2004 than it did for fall 2003 during the initial application filing period.
CSUMentor, the web-based system that helps students plan for and apply to the CSU, received 343,429 applications between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30, a 47.6 percent increase over applications received during the same period last year. More than 38,000 applications were received on Nov. 30, with over 14,000 coming in during the hours of 8 p.m. to midnight.
"Students have clearly responded to our message encouraging them to apply early and to apply online, and CSUMentor continues to work smoothly for them," said Allison Jones, the CSU's assistant vice chancellor for student academic support. "During this period of heavy enrollment demand, both students and campus staff seem to appreciate the convenience and flexibility of CSUMentor and the online application process."
CSUMentor, which was designed by the Los Angeles-based Xap Corporation in cooperation with the CSU, has experienced soaring popularity since it was first introduced in 1996. This fall's increase follows a 47.5 percent increase in online applications in fall 2002, a 69 percent increase in fall 2001, and a 70 percent increase in fall 2000 over the previous year.
CSUMentor, a free service, also offers multimedia campus tours, student-campus matching assistance, free e-mail accounts, academic planners that allow students to track their progress in meeting admission requirements, and assistance in completing financial aid forms. Students pay only the admission application fee charged by the CSU campus when they submit an application for admission. Visit CSUMentor at http://www.csumentor.edu
Excerpted with permission from CSU Leader, December 5, 2003.
