More than half of California State University campuses saw enrollment gains this fall, despite pandemic

As California State University campuses shifted to mostly virtual classes this spring and closed their campuses, many college officials across the state worried that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic would devastate enrollments this fall. But just two months into the fall semester, more than half of the 23 campuses in the nation’s largest public university system have seen enrollment gains, bucking a national trend.

The picture isn’t rosy for every university, but among the 12 that saw gains, some have dealt with the coronavirus’s effects and are reporting high enrollments including Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal State Fullerton, CSU Dominguez Hill and Cal State Long Beach.

Fresno State, which saw a historic enrollment gain at 5%, and the other CSU campuses that saw enrollment gains stand in stark contrast to what is happening nationally to other public universities and community colleges.

Nationally, undergraduate enrollment is down 4% compared to last year, as of Sept. 24, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Most of that decrease is at the community college level, which is down 9.4% compared to last year. Although the full fall enrollment picture at the state’s community colleges won’t be […]

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