Photo illustration by Matt Weir / The Collegian
Fresno State shares trend with urban universities nationwide
Some students at California State University, Fresno are shuffling their schedules to make it to classes on campus as well as attending classes at other schools throughout the week.
The University̢۪s Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning department (IRAP) conducted a recent study to examine the extent of Fresno State students enrolled in other educational institutions and found it is more common now than ever before.
IRAP Research Analyst Dmitri Rogulkin said national studies on this topic have indicated a common trend in urban universities. Although it can be argued whether Fresno State falls under the category of urban university, Rogulkin said the department was interested to know if the trend was also happening locally.
“Since we know that this is an urban trend, an urban pattern, we wondered if it was happening here or not,â€Â said IRAP Director Christina Leimer.
The study included Fresno State first-time full-time freshmen during the fall semesters of 2002 to 2007, observing the number of students involved in “swirlingâ€Â (back-and-forth enrollment among two or more institutions) and “double-dippingâ€Â (concurrent attendance at two institutions).
The study did not discuss the reasons why students swirl or double-dip, but Rogulkin said national studies have found multiple factors contributing to the trend such as cost, location and class availability. “Those factors can be very relevant to Fresno State students too,â€Â he said.
For transfer student Ashley Abraham, trying to finish her GE classes means a trip to Fresno City College twice a week. Abraham, who is taking three classes at Fresno State this semester, is enrolled in a lower-division speech class at Fresno City College.
“I have a lot of time in between [classes], and can take time and not get stressed out,â€Â Abraham said about her fall schedule.
Unless a required course isn̢۪t being offered at Fresno State, Abraham said she does not recommend the inconvenience of concurrent enrollment. This is her first time having to take concurrent classes at two different institutions and she will most likely need to do the same thing next semester to complete her GE.
Abraham said the differences between the campus environments and the demeanor of students at Fresno State and Fresno City College is like night and day. Abraham said the motivation level is much lower even though her Fresno City College professor is good.
“It affects you,â€Â Abraham said. “I felt so motivated here [Fresno State] and tried to get all my classes here.â€Â
The study reported that the majority of Fresno State students co-enrolled attended community colleges, with Fresno City College and Reedley College at the top of the list. The top five courses included ENGL 1A, POL SCI 2, MATH 5B, HIST 11 and CHEM 3A.
According to the study, the percentage of Fresno State students enrolled elsewhere during their first year increased by 5.4 percent from 2002 to 2007. Leimer said the IRAP is interested to see how the trend may or may not be changing with the large number of classes cut this semester.
“The trend is increasing anyway,â€Â Leimer said. “So even if we see an increase, unless it’s a really huge one, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s because classes were cut here.â€Â
Jared Harper • Sep 15, 2009 at 9:15 pm
Its called educational business corruption. The University does not exist to feed the educational needs of the regions “children” but instead only exists to provide a machine of “Friday Night Lights” and “All american sports” that local conservatives want to maintain in this valley as the only “American Way” of doing things at the university. So in other words….”we work hard all damn week and we just wanna see our boys play and kick some tail on ESPN, who cares about the academic needs and more critical issues facing our region….now pass me a beer dammit, and put it on the ASI or CSU business card”
Jared Harper • Sep 16, 2009 at 4:15 am
Its called educational business corruption. The University does not exist to feed the educational needs of the regions “children” but instead only exists to provide a machine of “Friday Night Lights” and “All american sports” that local conservatives want to maintain in this valley as the only “American Way” of doing things at the university. So in other words….”we work hard all damn week and we just wanna see our boys play and kick some tail on ESPN, who cares about the academic needs and more critical issues facing our region….now pass me a beer dammit, and put it on the ASI or CSU business card”
Feeling Randy? • Sep 14, 2009 at 11:02 pm
yes, Fresno State is an ‘urban university’—-Fresno hardly earns the reputation, but the campus is not College Park, MD, Stillwater, OK, or State College, PA——it’s in an urban setting and is not the focal point of the surrounding city—-similarly, many JC’s are available. And it’s a real outrage that the state can’t cover the expense for fee paying students needing a full courseload to keep these people on campus. all fully matriculated students on should at the very least be able to remain on campus and have their needs addressed—-we want to be a major player on a regional scale (among western states) and we force students to scramble to fill a schedule elsewhere?—–
Feeling Randy? • Sep 15, 2009 at 6:02 am
yes, Fresno State is an ‘urban university’—-Fresno hardly earns the reputation, but the campus is not College Park, MD, Stillwater, OK, or State College, PA——it’s in an urban setting and is not the focal point of the surrounding city—-similarly, many JC’s are available. And it’s a real outrage that the state can’t cover the expense for fee paying students needing a full courseload to keep these people on campus. all fully matriculated students on should at the very least be able to remain on campus and have their needs addressed—-we want to be a major player on a regional scale (among western states) and we force students to scramble to fill a schedule elsewhere?—–