If downtown seems just a bit less congested this fall, it might be because there are 720 fewer students attending Chico State University than there were this time last year.

With the official "census date" at Chico State just a few days away, it appears enrollment will total close to 15,526 this fall, compared to 16,646 for fall 2002, according to Robert Hannigan, vice provost for enrollment management for the university.

The dip in enrollment and a related dip in the number of classes taken was somewhat unexpected by university officials.

Hannigan said it is not entirely clear what led to the enrollment contraction, "but it looks like we were surprised in a couple of areas."

What is known, is that fewer "continuing" juniors and seniors - upper division students who attended Chico State last spring - showed up for classes this fall.

"We may have graduated more (last May), which would have contributed to the senior side of that.

"We also had a bit of a fall off in new graduate students, and that could be both financial - the fee increase - and the difficulty of some of our international students getting visas. There are all kinds of components to this," said the vice provost.

Having 720 fewer students on campus means more than just having the possibility of more open seats in the cafeteria.

Chico State and the other 22 campuses of the California State University system are funded based on what is called "full-time equivalent students," or FTES.

The number of FTES on a campus is figured by taking all of the course hours enrolled in by all students, and dividing that number by 15, since 15 class hours a semester is considered a full load of coursework.

Chico State's FTES total has slipped right along with the head count.

Hannigan said he estimates there will be 13,878 FTES for fall 2003, which is down 530 FTES compared to the 14,408 posted last fall.

More importantly, the 13,878 FTES is 486 down from the campus target of 14,346 FTES for this fall. Since the state funds the university based on the number of full-time students, a dip in the total can be hard on the campus' bottom line, which was already been battered by budget cuts this fall.

Traditionally, the CSU campuses have been given a 4 percent swing zone - 2 percent above the target and 2 percent below - where there is no impact on the funding.

However, Hannigan said the fall figure looks like it will be about 3 percent below the target.

He said the "norm" has been, if a campus falls more than 2 percent below the funding target, everything below that 2 percent grace zone resulted in a funding cut for the specific university.

However, the vice provost said a funding cut for Chico State is not a foregone conclusion at this point.

"At this stage it is far to early to know if we have been in any danger (financially)," because of the FTES dip, said Hannigan.

What could save Chico State from any problems is the funding target is based on the FTES for the entire academic year, and that gives the campus next spring to get where it needs to be.

In order to do that, Chico State, unlike many other campus both in the CSU and the University of California system, is accepting applications from all potential candidates for enrollment.

"We are open for spring and we will attempt to narrow that (FTES) gap," said Hannigan.

This is a dramatic change from last fall, when the university was deliberately trying to hold down enrollment growth, which had hit an all-time high the year before.

"Last year we were open for certain categories and some we didn't open at all," he explained.

In fall 2002 there were no applications for spring accepted from either first-time freshmen or lower division transfer students, whereas this year applications from both groups are being solicited.

"We certainly have a chance to work on whatever shortfall we come up with," Hannigan explained.

He also said, "The admissions office is already focusing on fall 2004, fall 2005, and fall 2006. It just shows in these strange and wonderful times there is work to do."