11:15am | The California State University system released encouraging news for higher education yesterday by announcing that all campuses will accept applications for enrollment in the Spring 2011 term. No Spring applications were accepted last year and there was uncertainty facing a decision for next year.
The news isn’t all good. The number of students that will be accepted is contingent on whatever funding is handed down by the State budget, which looks to be heading toward a messy conclusion again. Funding for higher education was slashed drastically last year.
“Despite the uncertainty regarding state support for the 2010-2011 academic year, we will move forward with the application process for spring 2011,” said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed, in a release. “The passing of the budget in a timely manner and the restoration of funding proposed by the governor will allow us to serve those students and provide immediate access for students already in the admissions pipeline.”
This is especially good news for students transferring from junior or community colleges, many of whom look to jump to four-year universities between terms.
California State University Long Beach (CSULB), along with other CSU campuses, last year was forced to cut enrollment and institute furlough days as cost-cutting measures amid increases in student tuition. The Spring enrollment announcement does not right those wrongs but perhaps does signal a step in the right direction after a troubling year for education in California.