Splitting time

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