Cal State Fullerton Sees Growth in All Forms for Fall

Cal State Fullerton is offering more - more places to attend class, more areas of specialization for students to study - and more students than ever are taking advantage of the high-quality education being offered.

As fall semester classes begin Monday, Aug. 26, the university will open its new El Toro Campus, where more than 200 upper-division courses are being taught in a wide range of subjects, and 2,000 students are expected.

“This new branch campus is the launch pad for expanding our capacity to serve the growing number of students who wish to attend Cal State Fullerton, particularly those living in south Orange County,” said CSUF President Milton A. Gordon. “The tremendous efforts of our faculty and staff, who have been working throughout the summer to ready this facility, are making this possible. I couldn’t be more proud of what’s in store for those students who join us at El Toro.”
There’s also institutional pride in the growing number of high-achievers applying to Cal State Fullerton, as evidenced by the rise in applications for the President’s Scholars program. This year, more than 500 applied - up from 348 last year. This fall, 26 incoming scholars are joining the prestigious program, which attracts the region’s best-and-brightest graduating high-school students.

They are part of a growing freshman class that in recent years has posted gains in entering test scores and grades.

“If the pattern of the last two to three years holds, we anticipate that this year’s freshman class will have higher high-school GPAs, higher SAT scores, and increased proficiency in math and English,” noted Dolores Vura, assistant vice president for institutional research and analytical studies.

Meanwhile, the university’s overall student population is on the rise with preliminary opening-day enrollment pegged at 27,421 students - a CSUF record. This number reflects a three-percent increase over last fall’s actual opening-day count of 26,616 students that rose to 30,357 by census day and to 30,445 in the spring. The spring 2002 student count marked the sixth consecutive semester of record-breaking enrollment for the university.

Enrollment is expected to increase as students continue to use TITAN registration to add to their class schedules during the first weeks of the new semester.

Students have a wide selection of classes to choose from in 100 majors, including the university’s first online master’s degree program in instructional design and technology, debuting in September.

New for graduate students in education is a concentration in educational technology, a field of specialization designed to help classroom teachers upgrade their skills and knowledge about educational technologies and the role of technology in instruction.

Both graduate and undergraduate business administration majors may choose a concentration in entrepreneurship. The concentration is offered to better meet the needs of students and the community, noted Michael D. Ames, professor of management and director of the new Center for Entrepreneurship in the College of Business and Economics, who added that “81 percent of the Orange County work force is employed by a small business or is self-employed.”

Also offered this fall is a family nurse practitioner concentration as part of the master of science degree in nursing. The specialization prepares students to provide primary health care to those of all ages. Such skills can be used for work in outpatient, home health, occupational, hospital and community settings.

Among those welcoming students to class will be 71 incoming full-time faculty members, including 57 new tenure-track hires - a record number for the campus. The university now has 607 tenured and tenure-track faculty members.

More students will be living on campus this fall with the completion of the new student housing complex on the east side of campus. The 440-bed facility includes four-bedroom apartments with single-occupancy bedrooms, as well as interior corridors. In addition, students will be able to seek enhanced physical therapy and counseling services in the new 5,200-square-foot Student Health and Counseling Center addition.

To ease the traditional parking crunch during the semester’s early weeks, parking will be permitted along the curb of some interior campus roads. In addition,’ stack’ parking, a popular feature the university has offered for two years, will return. By utilizing the aisles after parking spaces are filled, it boosts the capacity of the busiest student parking lot by 25 percent.

Students also will be allowed to park on the lawn west of the Performing Arts Center, as well as a field located west of the campus tennis courts. The Performing Arts Lawn is the future site of the university’s new Performing Arts Center, where construction is slated to begin next year.