Admission denied.

That may be the letter some local high school and Cabrillo College transfer students receive from campuses in the California State University and University of California systems next fall if they’re not diligent.

That’s the word from high school and college educators as they deal with the state budget crisis. For the first time ever, the Legislature has prevented enrollment growth at the state’s CSU and UC campuses. Basically, state lawmakers are requiring campuses in both systems to maintain last year’s enrollment levels. The same is expected to be true for the 2004-’05 school year as well.

That means thousands of the state’s graduating high school students, as well as those transferring from community colleges, could be left out in the cold.

"We’re limiting enrollment for the spring 2004 semester," said Clara Potes-Fellow, spokeswoman for the CSU chancellor’s office. "We do not have an exact number, but it could affect as many as 20,000 students. This presents a challenge for the state because we are changing our promise of providing an unlimited education opportunity to everyone in California. It’s a severe change in direction."

Potes-Fellow said the change may be felt for years to come, as the state struggles to pay off its budget deficit.

"We know that our budget will improve when the economy improves, but for the year 2004-’05 there is little hope for improvement because we already know there will be a budget deficit of about $9 billion to $12 billion," she said. "So the enrollment limitations could last at least two years. But then, there will be a ripple effect because when you starve funding for education for a number of years, it takes a number of years more to recover."

When legislators passed the state’s budget, it included a $304 million, or 13 percent, budget cut to the CSU system’s $2.6 billion general fund. The UC system was handed $410 million in funding cuts, a 13 percent decrease from the 2001-’02 school year budget. Students in both systems also face a substantial fee increase.

Both systems expect funding levels, and thus enrollment levels, to remain the same for the 2004-’05 school year.

And when education suffers, Potes-Fellow said the state’s economy will suffer as well, saying that the CSU system provides the bulk of the state’s work force, such as engineers, computer experts, communications majors and business majors.

Of the students who are denied access to four-year public universities, educators expect them to turn to community colleges.

"And whether community colleges will be able to handle the influx with its own budget cuts, nobody knows," said Cathy Summa, Cabrillo College spokeswoman.

Community colleges saw $133 million in categorical program cuts from the level provided the previous year.There also is the question of whether students who turn to community colleges because they were denied access to the CSU and UC systems would be able to transfer, Summa said.

If they are prepared, the answer may be yes, educators say.

To improve their chances of getting into a four-year campus, educators tell students to be on top of their game. That means having all their course work done before they plan to enroll at or transfer to a four-year college. It also means beating application deadlines, as well as those for transcripts and test scores, said Bill Nance, vice provost at San Jose State University, one of a few CSU campuses not heavily impacted by the enrollment limitations.

In 1993, budget cuts forced SJSU to halt enrollment and turn away 4,000 students, Nance said. It took the campus five years to recover. This year, the university had a plan in place to prevent that from happening again.

At CSU Monterey Bay, the newest campus in the system is still in a growth mode and is wide open for enrollment, said Holly White, spokeswoman.

"The situation is dire and unfortunate, but CSU is committed to continuing access to students and making sure that they can get in, get their classes and graduate in a reasonable time," she said, noting that even with enrollment limitations, the CSU system expects to grow 4 percent this year.

Other campuses still accepting applications for January are Humboldt State, Chico State, CSU Los Angeles, San Francisco State and Hayward State, said Potes-Fellow. Those campuses will close enrollment for the spring 2004 semester when they reach their individual targets. Stanislaus State’s enrollment closes Sept. 13, she said.

Meanwhile, other advice for freshmen and/or transfer students includes being more flexible in where they want to go to college and applying to several colleges, as well as being ready to take college-level courses.

Aptos High School is making sure all its students are ready, with college preparatory courses available beginning in ninth grade, Advanced Placement courses available online and a partnership with Cabrillo College in the event a student is not ready for a four-year college, said Mike Heffner, Aptos High vice principal.

At San Lorenzo Valley High School, Principal Valerie Pitts said her staff continues to encourage students to follow their dream even though the playing field has gotten more competitive.

For transfer students, Cabrillo Transfer Center Director Donna Mekis advises students to fill out a transfer agreement with the university they choose to attend. The agreement is a contract that requires the university to enroll those students.

Mekis said it is likely the several thousand students who were not allowed to transfer into January sessions at UC and CSU campuses did not complete a transfer agreement.

Later this month, she expects to learn how many Cabrillo students were affected by enrollment limitations. She plans to write those students a letter regarding their education options.