Contrary to the tight enrollment outlook at other state universities, Hayward State University is rolling out the welcome mat and aggressively recruiting high school seniors into its freshman class for the fall semester.

Hayward State also is about to start construction on a new freshman dorm at a time when most of its 22 sister campuses in the California State University system are tightening their belts and turning away applicants because of California's budget crisis.

Administrators hope to attract more live-in students from across the state and erase the school's image as the Bay Area's commuter campus.

Hayward enrolled 1,396 freshmen last year and hopes to increase that to about 1,700 this fall.

"First-time freshmen enhance the vitality of a campus. First-time freshmen have a greater affinity for the campus after they graduate," said Jeffrey Cook, executive director of enrollment services for Hayward.

Located on the peak of a grassy hill in the middle of Hayward and several miles from the freeway, the campus' enrollment has never met the great expectations that existed when it was approved in 1957 as the East Bay's only CSU campus.

Its current enrollment is about 13,500 even though it has capacity for 16, 500 students and has approvals to grow to 25,000 students on its 400-acre campus, according to campus spokesman Barry Zapel. There is even a lot of available parking on the campus, something rare for Bay Area campuses.

CSU Hayward is not exempt from the state's budget problems and must lay off 63 nonteaching staff members, mostly clerical and lab workers, but so far has not had to restrict enrollment.

The campus currently houses 380 students in a campus residence hall and another 145 students live in a private dormitory across the street from campus. The new residence hall will have 420 beds.

So, months after most California public universities have closed their application period and sent out acceptance letters, CSU Hayward is inviting freshmen to apply for fall and is breaking ground this summer on a new dormitory to help house them.

It means that qualified students turned away by other CSU campuses, or by the University of California's nine campuses, still have a chance at a four- year college experience within the relatively low-tuition CSU system. Hayward currently costs $2,418 per academic year for undergraduates, although CSU fees could rise about 10 percent for fall.

"It is one of the more unusual options this late in the game," said Barmak Nassirian, associate director of the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. "It is an opportunity."

While many of the CSU campuses used to accept applications through the summer, the state's budget crisis has forced them to curtail enrollment. Of the 23 CSU campuses, CSU Hayward is one of only six -- along with Bakersfield, Fullerton, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and the Maritime Academy - - that are still accepting applications for first-time freshman. Some of those other schools have very limited majors available.

The University of California accepted applications until last fall and last month it rejected 7,600 applicants who normally would have gotten a seat in the fall freshman class. Those rejected students were told they will be guaranteed admission to a UC campus if they attend a community college for two years. CSU had to cut its planned enrollment by 23,000 students this year and in the next few weeks will send rejection letters to thousands of qualified students, directing them to go to community college instead.

Some say that CSU Hayward offers a good option for some of those students.

"We kind of overlook it because it is so close to home and it is not really a school we strive to go to when we are in high school, but it is an awesome school,'' said Ashley Shadd, 19, who started at Hayward last year as a freshman and plays on the soccer team.

She said the school, which has fraternities and sororities, student clubs and many major sports, offers students the opportunity to get involved if they want and provides the perfect balance between the social scene and academics.

"It is easier to get better grades here because you can party here, but it is not an everyday thing, so you are not as distracted," said Shadd, who lives with her parents in Pleasanton.

Since it opened, the campus has been seen as a commuter school, with 85 percent of its student body coming from communities within the Bay Area. Most of those are students transferring from community colleges or other universities.

But now it is looking to new freshman as a way to build its enrollment and revitalize the campus. It is running television ads on MTV and Nickelodeon as well as local channels, and has produced a slick information folder targeting potential freshmen.

The school promises campus housing in suite apartments to first-time freshmen and has introduced freshmen "clusters" where students' first-year courses are all linked by themes such as spirituality or science, creating small communities within the university.

"It is family oriented. Among the people who live on campus, you feel like you know everybody and you go out in big groups," said Brandon Jones, 20, a sophomore who was watching ESPN with friends in the recreation room of the dormitory where he lives. "It is a very social environment, but there are just not as many people. We do have parties and we do have fun."