Cal State spring admissions open to non-residents only

August 17, 2012

The California State University system is under fire over its plans to admit higher-paying out-of-state and international students to its undergraduate and graduate programs next spring while barring California residents because of state funding cuts. [LATimes]

Earlier this year, Cal State officials announced a spring 2013 enrollment freeze for most of its 23 campuses including Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo to address $750 million in funding cuts for the current fiscal year. In addition, officials wanted to be positioned for an additional $250-million cut next year if voters reject a November tax measure supported by Gov. Jerry Brown.

And now, Chancellor Charles B. Reed has announced that nonresident undergraduate and graduate students are exempt from the freeze because they pay higher fees; California residents are subsidized by the state.

California graduate students, for example, will pay $7,356 for the 2012-13 academic year, while nonresident students will pay about $4,464 more for 12 units.

“We need to make appropriate enrollment cuts and that, unfortunately, has to be California residents,” Cal State spokesman Mike Uhlenkamp said to the Times. “If a campus has a program with the capacity to bring in students who are not subsidized and who are paying for the entirety of instruction, they could … bring in additional revenue that could go to benefit state residents.”