Cal State Bakersfield officials expect to be able to take in all qualified applicants who decide to enroll in the fall quarter, despite falling enrollment targets from the statewide system.
The university is projecting to serve the equivalent of roughly 150 fewer full-time students next academic year. But with fewer students enrolling in the school's post-baccalaureate teaching programs, the university will continue to have space, officials said.

"The university is confident that it will have the resources to serve all qualified students admitted to fall 2004," said Provost Jim George.

The 23-campus California State University system faced state budget cuts and rising student class fees in the last year. Already there are new proposals at the state level to increase undergraduate fees by 10 percent and graduate fees 40 percent in the fall, said Cal State Bakersfield's Director of Institutional Planning Terry Dunn. That may further reduce enrollment.

Earlier this year the governor proposed cutting the University of California and CSU freshman classes by 10 percent and diverting students into the community college system. But under current enrollment targets, Cal State Bakersfield officials expect to accommodate all qualified students who want to come.

Cal State currently has about 7,380 students enrolled in the spring quarter, including roughly 1,000 at the Antelope Valley campus.

"We want to grow. We want to be a growing campus," George said.

And in coming years with new buildings and more capacity the campus will grow, he said.

Applications from Los Angles County are way up, Dunn said. Last year the university got about 800 L.A.-area applications from first-time freshmen. This year Cal State Bakersfield has 1,160. The process for applying to multiple campuses has been made easier, but officials believe more students are also applying because campuses in Los Angeles and Orange County areas are at capacity and turning away students.

Across town at Bakersfield College, registration for summer and fall class sections began this month.

BC psychology professor Steve Eso teaches four class sections. His two statistics classes scheduled for fall are at 74 percent capacity. His introduction to psychology classes are 21 percent full. He said based on past years, he expects his classes to reach enrollment capacity for the fall semester within a couple of weeks from now.

This semester he said he turned away 75 to 80 students for lack of room and is expecting to do the same in the fall. He said the community college system statewide needs more money.

"I'm not saying let's give faculty more money. I'm saying let's hire more faculty so we can serve more students," Eso said.

BC spokeswoman Michele Bresso said there are too many factors, including uncertain budgets and rising class fees to predict fall enrollments. In fall 2003 the college served nearly 15,000 total students. In the past three years the college increased enrollment by about 30 percent but either reduced or maintained the same number of class sections each of those years. The college has increased enrollment by cutting elective courses and replacing them with higher capacity core education classes.

"We're very early in the registration process right now. We anticipate being able to accommodate most of the students that come," Bresso said. "Does that mean every student will be able to get the first class they want on the day they want it? No. That's not likely."

The college has started a new first-come-first-serve registration waiting list for full classes. In the past professors signed add slips for non-enrolled students who showed up the first day of class when enrolled students didn't show. Under that system students often got turned away. Now students get added as space becomes available based on their place on the waiting list.

BC student Jose Gonzalez, 36, is finishing his second year this semester at BC and plans to transfer to Cal Poly Pomona in the fall. He said he was always able to get the classes he needed at BC, but that he's been one of the lucky ones.

"There is a lot of new students who come and don't have any priority registration, so they get pretty much last pick of the classes," Gonzalez said. "I feel sorry for the students who are in the high schools right now and looking forward to being in a college or a university in three or four years. It's going to get tougher before it gets easier."