March 18, 2003::No.177

Cal State Fullerton Announces Spring Enrollment Count

Cal State Fullerton’s spring student population is 31,545 — the largest spring enrollment in the university’s history.

Last fall, student enrollment reached 32,143 — the university’s seventh consecutive semester of record-breaking enrollment. The sky-high fall numbers prompted the early closure of undergraduate admissions for spring, except in the majors of nursing and engineering, or for those who elected to attend classes solely at the university’s El Toro Campus in Irvine, where enrollment is on the rise.

“This is part of our effort to preserve quality for our existing students, while maintaining access, particularly at our El Toro Campus,” said Ephraim P. Smith, vice president for academic affairs, noting that fall applications are still being accepted for the programs being offered at the university’s branch campus.

There are 2,677 students attending the CSUF El Toro Campus this spring. Among them are 1,027 attending courses solely at the former Marine base. Last fall — the first semester courses were offered at the site — 2,255 students attended classes, including 951 who took classes only at the El Toro Campus.

This spring’s tally for all students, unlike the last three years, did not outpace the fall count, but did exceed the 2002 spring tally by more than 1,000 students, according to figures tabulated after four weeks of classes — official census point — by the offices of Admissions and Records and Analytical Studies.

The spring full-time-equivalent student (FTES) count is 22,724, an increase from last spring’s FTES of 22,053. One FTE equals 15 units of student course work and is the basis for allocating state funding to the campus.