Analytic Studies

In Brief Fall 2009

December, 2009

CSU Enrollments

CSU Enrollments Graph

Chart A. Fall Term Enrollment and Full-Time Equivalent Students (FTES) from
Fall 2000 to Fall 2009. FTES represent the number of students that would be
served if they all attempted a full-time course load.

Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
FTES 287,021 302,904 318,631 321,607 317,234 325,561 343,199 357,746 363,223 358,662
Enrollment 368,469 388,605 407,896 408,946 397,048 405,282 417,112 433,017 437,008 433,054

The state revenues that support higher education enrollments at public universities in California have declined dramatically over the past two years. In particular, the California State University budget has been cut by $625 million, or 21 percent of its state allocation. To address the substantial loss in funds, the CSU has implemented a response plan that includes employee furloughs, student fee increases, and planned enrollment reductions across the 23 campuses. As a result, CSU enrollment declined in fall 2009: the current enrollment figure of 433,054 students is -3,954 lower than the 437,008 students recorded in fall 2008. Total enrollment is expected to drop by an additional 6,000 by spring 2010. Overall, the CSU expects to reduce enrollment by 40,000 students over the next two years.

Lower fall 2009 enrollments occurred at 12 of the 23 CSU campuses. The largest annual losses were at Long Beach (down 2,334 students), San Diego (down 2,042 students), and San Jose (down 1,466 students). Higher fall enrollments occurred at eleven (11) CSU campuses. The largest annual gains were at Dominguez Hills (up 1,626 students), Pomona (up 1,083 students), and San Marcos (up 619 students).

Another way to gauge enrollments is to convert student headcounts into full-time equivalent students (FTES). In the past this was accomplished

by dividing total student credit units attempted by 15, the normative workload for students pursuing a degree in 4 years. In spring 2006 the state approved a new formula for determining the FTE of graduate students (i.e., students seeking a master's or doctorate degree). Now 12 units attempted by graduate students equal one FTE.

However, for students seeking a baccalaureate or credential, the formula remained the same: 15 units attempted equal one FTE.

The current number of FTES is 358,662. Last year's figure was 363,223. The decrease in FTES from the prior year is -4,561 or a -1.3% percent decrease.

The two graph lines in the chart displayed above illustrate the relationship between enrollment numbers and FTES, and they chart the enrollment trend from fall 2000 to fall 2009. Tables 1 and 2, shown on the following pages, list the exact systemwide numbers used to plot the lines and they list campus-specific numbers.

Fullerton recorded the highest campus enrollment (36,262) for the system. San Diego was the leader in FTES enrollment (29,113).

 

Table 1. Selected Fall Term Enrollment in the California State University, from Fall 2000(1)

Campus 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Fullerton 28,381 30,357 32,143 32,592 32,744 35,040 35,921 37,130 36,996 36,262
Long Beach 30,918 33,259 34,566 34,715 33,479 34,547 35,574 36,868 37,891 35,557
Northridge 29,066 31,448 32,070 33,426 31,341 33,243 34,560 35,446 36,208 35,198
San Diego 31,609 34,171 34,304 33,676 32,936 32,693 34,305 36,559 35,832 33,790
San Jose 26,698 28,007 30,350 28,932 29,044 29,975 29,604 31,906 32,746 31,280
San Francisco 26,826 26,866 28,378 29,686 28,804 28,950 29,628 30,125 30,014 30,469
Sacramento 25,714 26,923 28,558 28,375 27,972 27,932 28,529 28,829 29,011 29,241
Pomona 18,424 19,041 19,821 19,804 19,003 19,885 20,510 21,477 21,190 22,273
Fresno 19,056 20,007 21,272 22,342 19,781 20,371 22,098 22,383 22,613 21,500
Los Angeles 19,593 20,675 21,099 20,637 20,307 20,034 20,565 21,051 20,743 20,619
San Luis Obispo 16,877 18,079 18,453 18,303 17,582 18,475 18,722 19,777 19,471 19,325
San Bernardino 14,909 15,985 16,341 16,927 16,194 16,431 16,479 17,066 17,646 17,852
Chico 15,912 16,704 16,246 15,516 15,734 15,919 16,250 17,034 17,132 16,934
East Bay 12,705 13,240 13,876 13,455 13,061 12,535 12,706 13,124 14,167 14,749
Dominguez Hills 12,848 12,871 13,504 13,248 12,613 12,357 12,068 12,082 12,851 14,477
San Marcos 6,256 6,496 7,678 7,777 7,365 7,502 8,734 9,159 9,148 9,767
Stanislaus 7,062 7,534 7,850 8,072 7,858 8,137 8,374 8,836 8,601 8,586
Sonoma 7,402 7,590 8,219 8,371 7,977 7,749 8,274 8,770 8,921 8,546
Bakersfield 6,397 7,050 7,765 7,933 7,755 7,549 7,711 7,700 7,684 8,003
Humboldt 7,433 7,382 7,611 7,725 7,550 7,462 7,435 7,773 7,800 7,954
Monterey Bay 2,624 3,020 3,551 3,760 3,945 3,773 3,818 4,080 4,340 4,688
Channel Islands (2) - - 2,139 1,560 2,021 2,575 3,123 3,599 3,783 3,862
Maritime Academy 653 606 721 698 759 860 828 858 875 823
Campus Total 367,363 387,311 406,515 407,530 395,825 403,994 415,816 431,632 435,663 431,755
CalState TEACH 588 733 808 798 640 712 713 774 738 714
International Programs 518 561 573 618 583 576 583 611 607 585
Summer Arts - - - - - - - - -  
Grand Total 368,469 388,605 407,896 408,946 397,048 405,282 417,112 433,017 437,008 433,054

Notes:

  1. Beginning fall 2000, fall enrollment represents profile data and may differ from final data posted in other reports.
  2. Channel Islands serve 1,560 native students and 780 continuing students that originally matriculated at Northridge.

Table 2. Selected Fall Term Full-Time Equivalents in the California State University, from Fall 2000(1)


Campus 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
San Diego 24,701 27,022 27,622 27,004 26,769 26,948 28,920 31,178 30,821 29,113
Long Beach 23,725 25,592 26,480 26,606 26,009 27,060 28,577 29,797 30,895 28,880
Fullerton 20,701 22,016 23,351 23,428 24,142 25,975 27,025 28,132 28,362 27,965
Northridge 21,440 23,170 24,023 24,853 23,237 25,139 26,651 27,418 28,461 27,442
San Francisco 19,993 19,962 21,244 22,483 22,187 22,537 23,950 24,603 24,692 24,611
Sacramento 19,971 20,985 22,189 22,294 22,091 22,241 23,153 23,265 23,613 24,280
San Jose 19,622 20,525 22,186 21,167 21,554 22,317 23,304 25,276 26,291 23,886
San Luis Obispo 15,606 16,745 17,275 17,196 16,643 17,286 17,620 18,566 18,498 18,699
Pomona 14,903 15,668 16,309 16,603 15,964 16,717 17,527 18,177 17,805 18,687
Fresno 15,838 16,461 17,255 18,166 17,133 17,669 18,845 19,150 19,339 18,679
Los Angeles 13,809 14,711 15,166 15,223 15,457 15,294 16,251 16,687 16,297 15,967
Chico 14,216 14,840 14,409 13,883 14,215 14,550 15,025 15,822 15,963 15,797
San Bernardino 11,556 12,374 12,687 13,224 13,100 13,208 13,776 14,173 14,866 15,014
East Bay 9,971 10,388 10,952 10,778 10,660 10,251 10,979 11,412 12,510 12,977
Dominguez Hills 8,146 8,093 8,709 8,749 8,523 8,266 8,640 8,764 8,846 10,221
Sonoma 6,353 6,580 7,102 7,333 6,958 6,866 7,466 7,985 8,258 7,640
San Marcos 4,710 4,841 5,826 5,979 5,837 5,969 7,089 7,479 7,449 7,594
Humboldt 6,902 6,842 7,007 7,092 7,030 6,905 6,876 7,189 7,223 7,490
Bakersfield 5,449 5,956 6,601 6,707 6,615 6,623 6,937 6,906 6,982 7,301
Stanislaus 5,184 5,442 5,678 5,870 5,778 6,020 6,314 6,686 6,634 6,608
Monterey Bay 2,533 2,888 3,376 3,646 3,851 3,618 3,612 3,923 4,129 4,534
Channel Islands (2) - - 1,258 1,296 1,656 2,137 2,640 3,038 3,271 3,314
Maritime Academy 713 684 742 771 756 834 886 922 884 901
Campus Total (4) 286,042 301,785 317,447 320,349 316,165 324,432 342,061 356,547 362,089 357,601
International Programs 570 617 620 680 641 634 647 672 631 587
CalState TEACH 412 501 565 578 427 495 491 527 503 474
Summer Arts - - - - - - - - -  
Grand Total (3) 287,021 302,904 318,631 321,607 317,234 325,561 343,199 357,746 363,223 358,662

Notes:

  1. Beginning fall 2000, fall enrollment represents profile data and may differ from final data posted in other reports.
  2. Channel Islands serve 1,560 native students and 780 continuing students that originally matriculated at Northridge.
  3. Due to rounding, the figures presented on this page may not sum to totals.

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Last Updated: December 09, 2009