Chico State University will be considering a policy requiring students to get sober or get out, enrollment on campus will be flat for at least two more years, and faculty have to do more enhance the freshman-year experience, according to the school's interim president.

Speaking Thursday at the annual first-of-the-school-year convocation, interim President Scott McNall told faculty, staff, students and fellow administrators the university "cannot step back from our responsibility to address" the problem of campus alcohol and drug abuse, which he characterized as a "nationwide problem."

McNall said the campus would continue to follow the pattern established by the recently retired President Manuel Esteban, when it comes to drug and alcohol abuse education.

However, McNall also said the campus Advisory Committee on Alcohol and Drug Abuse will review a policy in force at Fort Hays State University, Kan., for possible implementation at Chico State.

"Fort Hays sends a very simple message to students: get smart, get help, or get out," said McNall.

"Students who engage in high-risk behavior at Fort Hays are first given the chance to 'get smart' by attending mandatory sessions on drug and alcohol abuse.

"When they break a policy a second time, students must get help and engage their parents if possible.

"And, finally, if the students continue to break the rules, they are asked to leave. If that sounds harsh, think about the students whose GPA is lowered semester-after-semester by alcohol abuse. What does this do to their future?" McNall told the standing-room-only crowd in the Harlen Adams Theatre in the campus Performing Arts Center.

Beyond the concern about drug and alcohol abuse, McNall said the university must find ways to make the freshman year a more positive experience.

"Data we have collected and focus groups we have conducted suggest the first-year experience does not leave our students' optimism and hope intact," said McNall.

"Our students report they are not as engaged as they would like to be and they feel disconnected from their teachers, and the general education experience has not been as enriching as they had hoped," he explained.

The interim president, who is also the campus provost and vice president for academic affairs, said freshmen come to the university "with great expectations. They want to share in the pursuit of knowledge and that is the trust of the faculty."

He said he will launch an "all-university effort" to find ways to improve the world of the freshman student, and the effort will involve students, faculty and administrators.

McNall reported that total enrollment for this fall semester will be about 16,000 individuals. For state funding purposes, the university's enrollment is figured in terms of "full-time equivalent" (FTE) students, which is determined by taking all of the class hours enrolled in during a semester and dividing that by 15, since 15 class hours is considered a full load.

The roughly 16,000 individual students will result in about 14,500 FTE, which is Chico State's funding target for this year, McNall said.

"Our enrollment is flat and will remain flat for close to two more cycles," covering the 2004-2005 and the 2005-2006 academic years, according to McNall.

"But we will want to grow enrollment when we can, because that is our major source of revenue," he said.

However, he also said that enrollment growth need not necessarily mean more students on the Chico State campus.

"Some (enrollment) can be generated off-site in communities such as Redding, which has repeatedly asked us to increase our presence in the north state. Some of our enrollments can be created through distance education (such as online courses), when it is educationally sound and when it is cost effective to do so," said the interim president.

McNall said the university must do a better job of convincing the general public of the importance of the academic mission.

Higher education in general, according to McNall, "has lost the trust of the public, particularly those who must make tough decisions about how to allocate scarce public resources ... If we don't find ways to convince others that we do a good job, we'll continue to lose resources and we will never have enough money to do all of the great things we want."

McNall told his colleagues, "We have forgotten to tell the public this worthwhile story of the open mind, of the need to educate for democracy, the need to help create a just world, and to develop the whole person."