FULLERTON – Cal State Fullerton has shut the door and pulled in the welcome mat to new students for its spring 2004 term, in a cost-saving measure that could affect thousands.

Today was the first day that new students were to be allowed to apply for the semester that begins Jan. 28. Instead, university officials decided at the last minute Thursday that they could not accept any new students in the spring.

"The computers are being loaded with that information right now," CSUF spokeswoman Paula Selleck said Thursday.

Last year, the university received a record 7,915 applications for spring admission, ultimately accepting 5,522 new students and enrolling 4,257 of them, Selleck said.

CSU Chancellor Charles Reed decreed Tuesday that the system's 23 campuses cannot allow their enrollment to increase this year more than the 4.3 percent growth funded by the Legislature in the newly passed state budget.

This means that campuses like CSUF, which already have exceeded the enrollment limits, must find a way to cut.

That left two options, officials said: cut spring admissions or cut classes.

At CSUF, officials decided to cut off spring admissions to protect access to classes for the students who are already enrolled, Selleck said. Incoming freshmen were already banned from applying in the spring, so the new prohibition affects graduate, teacher-certification, transfer and returning students.

"This is all about preserving academic quality for the folks who are already here and making sure they can get what they need to graduate in a timely fashion," Selleck said.

The next application date for prospective students is Oct. 1, when CSUF will begin accepting applications for its fall 2004 semester.

"If you are a graduating high school senior, I would make sure you apply on Oct. 1," Selleck said.

Last year, the campus shut off fall admissions Dec. 5 after receiving an unexpected flood of 17,000 applications.