California's state university system will face a surge of enrollment demand in the next half-decade, according to a new statistical study by the California Postsecondary Education Commission.
Enrollment demand will jump from 362,000 students in 2008 to 420,000 by 2015, then level off as the college-age population hits a plateau, CPEC says in the study, which is to be presented to a commission meeting next week. But that assumes that college fees will be reasonable and the state provides enough support to fully fund all of the classes being sought.
Budget cuts have reduced 2009 enrollment by about 4,000 students and are projected to cut enrollment by another 20,000 next year. The state university system board recently raised fees sharply as well.
The report was prepared in conjunction with the Legislature's review of the 50-year-old Master Plan for Higher Education. "The state is not delivering the promise of the master plan any more," CPEC chair John Perez said in a statement as the report was released. "CSU is limiting access and raising fees in order to keep afloat. We no longer have the open, affordable, state university system that we once had in California."
The full report, the latest in a series called "Ready or Not, Here They Come," is available here.
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