Brianna Campbell / The Collegian

California State University, Fresno will accept 400 less incoming freshmen for the fall 2010 semester, and the entire CSU system will reduce enrollment by 40,000 students over the next two years.

The Board of Trustees approved “impactionsâ€Â for 12 CSU campuses last week in order to prevent courses in fall 2010 from being cut, according to university officials.

An impaction occurs when a campus receives a greater number of eligible students than they can accommodate during the initial filing period, said Bernie Vinovrski, associate vice president for enrollment services.

Fresno State has moved its fall 2010 deadline for first-time freshman applicants up from February to Nov. 30, because the campus is now impacted. Vinovrski said that 95 percent of applications come in before Dec. 1.

“So from a practical point of view, saying it’s Nov. 30 isn’t that significant,â€Â Vinovrski said.

The impaction will trim about 400 first-time freshmen from the incoming class, according to Vinovrski. The idea, Vinovrski said, is to have fewer students from the beginning, and avoid cutting courses from the schedule.

“Now we’re saying, ‘OK, let’s offer classes for 9.5 percent fewer students,’â€Â Vinovrski said. “I think we should be OK.â€Â

However, he said that the impaction would not affect Fresno State applicants from local feeder schools in Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties.

“So, that means for the local students that apply by Nov. 30, who have the right courses, and have at least a 3.0 average – they’ll all be accommodated,â€Â Vinovrski said.

He said that this past year, with a class of 2,800 freshmen, only 1,800 came from those four counties. With 400 fewer spots for next fall, students from outside the four counties will have a tougher time getting in.

“If you’re from outside the area, no longer is it sufficient just to meet the minimum eligibility requirement,â€Â Vinovrski said.

Students from outside the local area will be ranked in order of their eligibility index number – a number derived from grade-point average and SAT or ACT test scores, said Vivian Franco, the director of admissions, records and evaluations. However, she would not speculate on the cutoff point.

“We will make offers for admission on the space available basis, and it will be in descending order of eligibility,â€Â Franco said.

She said that students often apply to several campuses, but they won̢۪t be accepted by every campus to which they apply. However, the CSU has built in safeguards to allow students to find a place to enroll.

“The screening criteria really is local area, and non-local area,â€Â Franco said.

Franco also said that Fresno State receives students from the surrounding areas and even out of state, because of the specialty programs it offers. However, she stressed that no department would be particularly hurt by reducing the students from outside areas.

“We’re fairly comfortable that, from [the local] pool and [the non-local] pool, we’re going to be able to bring in a class of new freshmen that is very similar to the class of new freshmen we currently have,â€Â Franco said.