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.
jennifer • Oct 9, 2009 at 9:31 am
fyi, yes you are correct the engineering program is highly rated, and thus, I am sure very educational in deed. You are correct that certain majors are more of a challenge, and certain majors do meet expectations of what college should be. There are always exceptions to the rules, i.e my statements. I just mean over all things need to change. It should be educational, challenging, and up to college standards all the way around, and not just reserved for certain majors. I am not trying to be an ass when I make my statements, although sometimes they may come accross that way, I just would like to see Fresno State be all that it could be. I would like the students to step up to the plate and be willing to accept a more challenging education, so that professors don’t feel the pressure to dumb their classes down. I would like to see the college go back to how it used to be when it provided a college education all the way around, and not just a second go around at high school. Why not make Fresno State a well known school like say Harvard or Stanford. What I mean is why not make Fresno State a place where people will say wow you graduated from there? Anything is possible, but it takes everyone to say you know what we are tired of a mediocre education, and we want more. We want things to be different, we want things to change, we want a good education, we are tired of this. If people sit back and say nothing, then nothing will ever change, and Fresno State will not grow to be the kind of school it has the power to be.
jennifer • Oct 9, 2009 at 4:31 pm
fyi, yes you are correct the engineering program is highly rated, and thus, I am sure very educational in deed. You are correct that certain majors are more of a challenge, and certain majors do meet expectations of what college should be. There are always exceptions to the rules, i.e my statements. I just mean over all things need to change. It should be educational, challenging, and up to college standards all the way around, and not just reserved for certain majors. I am not trying to be an ass when I make my statements, although sometimes they may come accross that way, I just would like to see Fresno State be all that it could be. I would like the students to step up to the plate and be willing to accept a more challenging education, so that professors don’t feel the pressure to dumb their classes down. I would like to see the college go back to how it used to be when it provided a college education all the way around, and not just a second go around at high school. Why not make Fresno State a well known school like say Harvard or Stanford. What I mean is why not make Fresno State a place where people will say wow you graduated from there? Anything is possible, but it takes everyone to say you know what we are tired of a mediocre education, and we want more. We want things to be different, we want things to change, we want a good education, we are tired of this. If people sit back and say nothing, then nothing will ever change, and Fresno State will not grow to be the kind of school it has the power to be.
fyi • Oct 9, 2009 at 8:36 am
agree with the cool kid & scout… but also with jennifer in the part about students treating college as if it were high school but only with that part.. Fresno State is a great university and it is very challenging just ask my engineering brother now they are very rigorous perhaps the major you chose is not challenging enough..either way yes i too am tired of seniors who can’t even write a proper essay
fyi • Oct 9, 2009 at 3:36 pm
agree with the cool kid & scout… but also with jennifer in the part about students treating college as if it were high school but only with that part.. Fresno State is a great university and it is very challenging just ask my engineering brother now they are very rigorous perhaps the major you chose is not challenging enough..either way yes i too am tired of seniors who can’t even write a proper essay
jennifer • Oct 8, 2009 at 8:43 pm
oh and I read one of my prior posts and saw the confusion, I put when I first attended in 2002. It should of said when I left in 2002. Sorry.
jennifer • Oct 9, 2009 at 3:43 am
oh and I read one of my prior posts and saw the confusion, I put when I first attended in 2002. It should of said when I left in 2002. Sorry.
jennifer • Oct 8, 2009 at 8:36 pm
I last attended Fresno State in 2002. At that time it was structured way differently. The education I received in 2002 was a very good one. One that I was happy with and can’t complain about. My degree was social work. I then went on to be a social worker for seven years. I came back to Fresno State, to change majors, to get a bachelors in a different area. When coming back I expected to receive the same quality of education that I had received prior. So it did not take me seven years to graduate ( Scout). I left Fresno State in 2002 and came back in 2007 for the second go around. You say you started school in 2003 so maybe the education has been watered down since then because if you started Fresno state when I did ( 1998-2002) you would be able to see what I am talking about. It was just way different. That is why I complain, I know how much better it can be, I have seen it much better. You think you are getting a quality education, and you may be happy with it, but that is because you didn’t get to experience how it was before. If you experienced how it was before, then you would see just how watered down it is. OF course you are proud of your education, as you should be, however proud or not it could have been better. Another possibility ( I don’t know you so i can’t say) is that you didn’t see it as watered down because you are not intelligent, and the watered down education seemed challenging and educational to you. Not trying to be insulting, I don’t know you, I am not saying that, i am just stating a possibility. Only you know the truth about that. I am not worried about insulting my teachers Scout, my teachers are very aware of how I feel, I have good relationshiips and communication with them. They have worked at the school for years, and I know several professors who agree with me. They taught when it was the way I am talking about. I asked several why it is so different, and I have been actually told, they had to dumb it down so students would pass. Why did the level of expectancy go down, I have no idea, in the past they didn’t make it easier just because people couldn’t keep up. To the Cool Kid, the degree I needed the second time, wasn’t offered at any other school in Fresno, and I need to stay in Fresno at this time for personal reasons.
jennifer • Oct 9, 2009 at 3:36 am
I last attended Fresno State in 2002. At that time it was structured way differently. The education I received in 2002 was a very good one. One that I was happy with and can’t complain about. My degree was social work. I then went on to be a social worker for seven years. I came back to Fresno State, to change majors, to get a bachelors in a different area. When coming back I expected to receive the same quality of education that I had received prior. So it did not take me seven years to graduate ( Scout). I left Fresno State in 2002 and came back in 2007 for the second go around. You say you started school in 2003 so maybe the education has been watered down since then because if you started Fresno state when I did ( 1998-2002) you would be able to see what I am talking about. It was just way different. That is why I complain, I know how much better it can be, I have seen it much better. You think you are getting a quality education, and you may be happy with it, but that is because you didn’t get to experience how it was before. If you experienced how it was before, then you would see just how watered down it is. OF course you are proud of your education, as you should be, however proud or not it could have been better. Another possibility ( I don’t know you so i can’t say) is that you didn’t see it as watered down because you are not intelligent, and the watered down education seemed challenging and educational to you. Not trying to be insulting, I don’t know you, I am not saying that, i am just stating a possibility. Only you know the truth about that. I am not worried about insulting my teachers Scout, my teachers are very aware of how I feel, I have good relationshiips and communication with them. They have worked at the school for years, and I know several professors who agree with me. They taught when it was the way I am talking about. I asked several why it is so different, and I have been actually told, they had to dumb it down so students would pass. Why did the level of expectancy go down, I have no idea, in the past they didn’t make it easier just because people couldn’t keep up. To the Cool Kid, the degree I needed the second time, wasn’t offered at any other school in Fresno, and I need to stay in Fresno at this time for personal reasons.
Scout • Oct 8, 2009 at 11:49 am
Jennifer, if it is run so poorly and easy to pass classes, why have you been there for 7 years and are just now graduating?
If this is your masters or something, then you made a conscious decision to come back after getting your bachelors. and if that is the case, then you clearly need to stop complaining.
As an alumni (2003 – 2007 BA), I am thankful for the knowledge and experience I had at Fresno State. Yes it was a bit overcrowded, but I will not say that the teaching I recieved was watered-down. That would probably be a great insult to your current teachers.
Scout • Oct 8, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Jennifer, if it is run so poorly and easy to pass classes, why have you been there for 7 years and are just now graduating?
If this is your masters or something, then you made a conscious decision to come back after getting your bachelors. and if that is the case, then you clearly need to stop complaining.
As an alumni (2003 – 2007 BA), I am thankful for the knowledge and experience I had at Fresno State. Yes it was a bit overcrowded, but I will not say that the teaching I recieved was watered-down. That would probably be a great insult to your current teachers.
the cool kid • Oct 8, 2009 at 8:47 am
Jennifer: If you think a Fresno State education is as bad as you have stated why did you continue to attend? For someone so worried about “watered down” degrees etc. it sure doesn’t seem to bother you enough that you went elsewhere to get a “better” education.
the cool kid • Oct 8, 2009 at 3:47 pm
Jennifer: If you think a Fresno State education is as bad as you have stated why did you continue to attend? For someone so worried about “watered down” degrees etc. it sure doesn’t seem to bother you enough that you went elsewhere to get a “better” education.
jennifer • Oct 7, 2009 at 8:51 pm
yes Wesley, thank you, it does seem they will let anyone into Fresno State now a days. Degrees from Fresno State, unfortunetly are already watered down, as you put it. I will be graduating from Fresno state this semester, and I can honestly say it is an extreamly poorly run school with little to no educational benefit, with students who graduate not knowing even the basic skills, and the classes are a cake walk, a complete disappointment. The things I have learned at Fresno State were things I learned in high school and sometimes even grammer school. There are students who are seniors who can’t write a paper to save their life. Some of them are flat out stupid. The education we receive is a joke. The classes should be way more advanced than what they are. When I first went to Fresno State back in 2002 it was fairly decent, but now it seems Fresno state has dummed everything down to a level of stupidity, to accomodate students who otherwise couldn’t make it. Well not everyone is intended to go to college, not everyone is smart enough, and not to be mean, but that is just the way it is. You can’t just let in people just because, which is exactly what they have been doing. I agree with you, stop letting in people who don’t have the brains to make it, keep the classes educational and at high standards, and educate those of us who want to be educated. Let in the best of the best, and if the best of the best isn’t from Fresno then tough. This isn’t freaking high school, stop treating it like it is a second go round at it, treat it like it’s the educational institution that it is, and stop babying the students and making things easier for them. I can’t stand the mentality that some people have at Fresno state. Not just students but teachers as well. I have complained about how easy and uneducational it is, and I have been told by instructors they ahve to make it that way or students wont pass. Well let them fail then. I am sick and tired of being ripped off of my education just because other students can’t keep up.
jennifer • Oct 8, 2009 at 3:51 am
yes Wesley, thank you, it does seem they will let anyone into Fresno State now a days. Degrees from Fresno State, unfortunetly are already watered down, as you put it. I will be graduating from Fresno state this semester, and I can honestly say it is an extreamly poorly run school with little to no educational benefit, with students who graduate not knowing even the basic skills, and the classes are a cake walk, a complete disappointment. The things I have learned at Fresno State were things I learned in high school and sometimes even grammer school. There are students who are seniors who can’t write a paper to save their life. Some of them are flat out stupid. The education we receive is a joke. The classes should be way more advanced than what they are. When I first went to Fresno State back in 2002 it was fairly decent, but now it seems Fresno state has dummed everything down to a level of stupidity, to accomodate students who otherwise couldn’t make it. Well not everyone is intended to go to college, not everyone is smart enough, and not to be mean, but that is just the way it is. You can’t just let in people just because, which is exactly what they have been doing. I agree with you, stop letting in people who don’t have the brains to make it, keep the classes educational and at high standards, and educate those of us who want to be educated. Let in the best of the best, and if the best of the best isn’t from Fresno then tough. This isn’t freaking high school, stop treating it like it is a second go round at it, treat it like it’s the educational institution that it is, and stop babying the students and making things easier for them. I can’t stand the mentality that some people have at Fresno state. Not just students but teachers as well. I have complained about how easy and uneducational it is, and I have been told by instructors they ahve to make it that way or students wont pass. Well let them fail then. I am sick and tired of being ripped off of my education just because other students can’t keep up.
Wesley Warker • Oct 7, 2009 at 4:46 pm
GET RID of the county preference and the practice of taking in minimally qualifying students over higher quality students simply because of the location of their respective home—–CA taxpayers should have the right to send their children to ANY CSU/UC campus regardless of location provided they exceed minimal qualifications. This idiodic means by which to expand education in the Central Valley would have made it difficult for me to attend CSU Fresno as I didn’t have a tremendously stellar high school GPA coming out of Imperial County. This practice also has the tendency to water down the value of a Fresno State degree. I can’t believe it’s still in practice——IT’S A STATE UNIVERSITY——end the commuter culture at these schools and add to the regional diversity of each CSU.
Wesley Warker • Oct 7, 2009 at 11:46 pm
GET RID of the county preference and the practice of taking in minimally qualifying students over higher quality students simply because of the location of their respective home—–CA taxpayers should have the right to send their children to ANY CSU/UC campus regardless of location provided they exceed minimal qualifications. This idiodic means by which to expand education in the Central Valley would have made it difficult for me to attend CSU Fresno as I didn’t have a tremendously stellar high school GPA coming out of Imperial County. This practice also has the tendency to water down the value of a Fresno State degree. I can’t believe it’s still in practice——IT’S A STATE UNIVERSITY——end the commuter culture at these schools and add to the regional diversity of each CSU.
jennifer • Oct 7, 2009 at 12:43 pm
my question is why was fresno state letting so many people in , in the first place, to bring us to this level of over crowdedness? If they wouldn’t have let so many people in they wouldn’t need to stop enrollment for a semester or whatever. They should of been doing this all along and sticking to the rules of the past, and having limits, instead of just letting everyone in, and we wouldn’t be having this problem. Yeah its nice to let people in, but you have to use common sense, and at some point you just have to say no. Don’t let the budget problems fool you to believe that it is the reason the cuts are happening. If they wouldn’t have allowed the school to be overcrowded in the first place, they wouldn’t be having to try and get rid of students.
jennifer • Oct 7, 2009 at 7:43 pm
my question is why was fresno state letting so many people in , in the first place, to bring us to this level of over crowdedness? If they wouldn’t have let so many people in they wouldn’t need to stop enrollment for a semester or whatever. They should of been doing this all along and sticking to the rules of the past, and having limits, instead of just letting everyone in, and we wouldn’t be having this problem. Yeah its nice to let people in, but you have to use common sense, and at some point you just have to say no. Don’t let the budget problems fool you to believe that it is the reason the cuts are happening. If they wouldn’t have allowed the school to be overcrowded in the first place, they wouldn’t be having to try and get rid of students.