An earlier cutoff for winter term enrollment led to 60 percent fewer applications this year at California State University, Stanislaus.

Officials at Stanislaus State and all other campuses in the CSU system are dealing with strict, state-mandated enrollment limits, as a result of the state budget crisis.

So, besides shrinking winter term enrollment, Stanislaus State is looking at turning away some qualified students for the spring semester.

"We'll probably in all honesty look at holding our applications until we see what we have in the pool," said Roger Pugh, assistant vice president of enrollment management.

That means that Stanislaus State will hold off making decisions about who's in and who's out until after Sept. 12, the last day to apply for the spring semester, set to start Feb. 16.

Spring semester applicants probably will be prioritized based on criteria set by CSU Chancellor Charles Reed, with returning students at the top of the list, Pugh said.

Applicants would not be prioritized based on grade-point average or other qualifications, he said.

Nonresidents, including those from out of the country, will not be allowed to enroll, beginning in the spring, Pugh said.

225 apply for winter

The university moved up the application deadlines for winter term and spring semester by three months as one way to cut enrollment.

The winter session at CSUS is sandwiched between the 14-week fall and spring semesters. Tuesday was the last day to apply for this winter's term. Classes begin Jan. 5.

About 225 people applied, compared with last winter's tally of about 560, Pugh said.

As part of the fallout of California's record budget crisis, Stanislaus State must limit enrollment growth to 2 percent this year. The university has grown by 6 percent each of the past few years, bringing total enrollment to about 8,000 students.

Students already are showing an interest in the spring semester.

"We're receiving applications for spring and getting a lot of calls," Pugh said.

Fliers announcing the earlier deadlines have gone up on community college campuses, and the deadlines have been printed in newspaper advertisements. More fliers will go up later this month, Pugh said.

The university is trying to be "as fair as we can," he said.

Stanislaus State spokesman Don Hansen noted that the university already is slightly overenrolled for the fall semester. "We have to balance the numbers here to make it fit," he said.

It is too early to tell how many students will apply for the spring semester, so Stanislaus State officials are acting now to develop contingency plans.

Show up for class, or else

Faculty will be urged to disenroll students who do not show up for classes, for example -- making space available for students on waiting lists, Pugh said.

And first priority will be given to continuing students, followed by upper division transfer students who have met all their requirements, as well as students working on teaching credentials, particularly those who are focusing on math and science, Pugh said.

Stanislaus State officials are looking as far into the future as the fall of 2004, since the Legislature said the state would provide no money for growth next year.

"It's such a big culture change," Pugh said of the shift away from the promise upon which the state built its public higher education system -- that any Californian with good grades could get a college education.