CSU’s Shrinking Enrollment: Is it Salvageable?
By Yulissa Garcia, Jynna Hughes, Nyan Gavino
Finishing his high school senior year over Zoom at the peak of COVID was the last thing Daniel Roche expected. To avoid having to sit for hours in front of a computer screen again, he decided to work full-time to help support his family.
“Graduating over Zoom wasn’t the best. I just felt like school wasn’t for me and I didn’t want to be in debt forever,” Roche said.
Despite efforts by CSU campuses to increase enrollment and retention rates, Roche is not alone. Since 2020, there has been a 6.5% drop in CSU enrollment rates. Continuation rates, which reflect student re-enrollment each year, have been in decline each year since 2010.
COVID-19 caused major shifts in the way students participate in their education and higher institutions have yet to see the full changes reflected in the data. Interviews with faculty, advisors, and current and former students, have highlighted possible causes for these trends.
Universities’ financial impact of COVID-19 has trickled down to students in the form of reduced financial aid, available courses, and rising costs of tuition. Students either increase their work hours and take less units, or put their academic careers on hold permanently.
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) student advisor, Dorna Basiratmand spoke about the challenge to retain first-time freshmen, especially those who take mostly online courses. Basiratmand pointed out that those students may be lacking a sense of community as well as not taking advantage of available resources.
“Transfer students are more likely to persist as they are closer to the ‘finish line’ and the skills they have gained thus far in their academic journey helps them to better tackle potential challenges,” said Basiratmand.
“Due to the pandemic, we had students push admission for another year in hopes that the environment would be better, but as we found out, a new learning curve happened as students, staff, and faculty were on the fence in returning to campus,” said Ernesto Cruz, Senior Academic Advisor/ Advising Lead at CSUN Connections.
Analyzing why students drop out is a complex issue with solutions that aren’t always clear, however, Cruz noted that student voices need to be louder to reverse dropout trends. Without their input, it can feel like an impossible problem to solve.
Enrollment
Enrollment rates are also in decline with fewer traditionally college-age students opting out of higher education after completing high school.
In Fall 2023, 362,076 new students applied to a CSU, with 303,333 students admitted, but only 141,393 enrolled in university classes.
Sue Garay, 28, graduated from John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in 2014. Garay works as a kitchen worker for Food and Nutrition Services at Kaiser Permanente to support herself and her 7-year-old daughter, Harley.
“I felt that college was too expensive. I didn’t put much effort into my studies,” Garay explained. “I’m a single mother and I struggle so much to even find someone to take care of her while I go to work.”
The average cost of attendance for a full-time CSU student varies by location and living situation, with many campuses topping $20,000 per year. The CSU Board of Trustees also recently approved a multi-year tuition hike scheduled to start in Fall 2024.
The financial burden can be crushing for independent students living outside of their parents’ home.
Ronnie Lemos, 28, was a student at Humboldt State University, now known as Cal Poly Humboldt, when he realized he could no longer afford to attend.
“After my freshman year, I didn’t live on campus anymore,” Lemos recalled, “So balancing, having to shop for yourself, groceries, eating, and then paying your rent, I just didn’t have much outside of that.”
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It became a game of tug-of-war between attending classes and fending for himself, so Lemos decided to stop enrolling after his sophomore year.
CSUs across the state have begun initiatives to encourage enrollment and retention. In the past, the CSUN would receive more applicants than they could admit. Now, it’s the opposite.
“We have to start thinking more carefully, how do we actually go out and recruit people and encourage them to come?” said Jacklyn Stallcup, Interim Vice Provost at CSUN. “Our provost has been going out to meet the parents’ events, meeting the student events. She was a booster for the recent incoming Matador’s Day.”
CSUN holds initiatives, like Matadors day, to let students know that they are welcomed with open arms in a community where they can thrive.
“That’s part of the recruitment process, and that brings more students in. But then, of course, once they get here, you have to help them succeed,” said Stallcup.
Re-enrollment
For Kim Kuykendall, a former SDSU student, her struggles in the classroom were attributed to the difficulty of the Computer Science curriculum, which took a toll on her mental health. Oftentimes when students fall behind, it can be a slow climb for them to seek help.
“I know there was counseling available as well, but I didn’t know anything about how to access it or use it, so I never did,” explained Kuykendall.
When the CSU system started the initiative to improve graduation rates in 2015, one goal was to reach students like Kuykendall. The term “stop outs” was created to address students who had some college, but took a break, with the hope of getting them to return.
With two years remaining to hit the re-enrollment goals, California State University, Northridge (CSUN) Office of Student Success officials detailed their strategy of “sending emails, texts messages and postcards.”
In 2016, among a group of first-time CSUN freshmen (4,468 total), almost 3,330 students left in good academic standing before finishing their degrees. Out of the students who left, 652 returned, but only 157 graduated.
For Kuykendall, the motivation to return didn’t begin with an email, text message or postcard–it became a personal goal of achievement.
“While I was out of school, I worked full-time but I realized I wanted more. It is possible to get great jobs without a college degree, but for what I wanted to do everyone said I needed to at least have a bachelor’s degree.”
Almost 6 years later, CSUN student Michael Moreno, used the economic lull of COVID-19 to re-enroll in school.
“I thought to myself, ‘you know, you’re working a job that doesn’t pay you well, it’s mediocre. It makes you want to not be here anymore,’” said Moreno.
Strategies before and after launching the GI 2025, point to needing better support services and greater awareness of the services being provided.
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) created a website titled, “Bring Titans Back,” focusing on simplifying the reapplication process, as well as providing a link to success stories.
Other CSUs such as San Francisco, Pomona and Baskerfield also tout similar efforts.
Despite the list of accomplishments, students are disinterested in enrolling in college. A renewed focus on post-pandemic support services, both mental and financial, along with heavy publicization is what students say will keep them engaged and successful.
Moreno shared that he is currently a peer coach for incoming freshmen and transfer students, guiding them on navigating university resources.
“I feel like that’s important to note, because I didn’t have that experience. When I got here, I needed a guide.”
