San Diego State University and Cal State San Marcos are preparing for an unprecedented surge in enrollment this week as they commence the fall semester, a time when many California institutions are still working to bounce back from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
SDSU anticipates enrollment will reach 40,500, reinforcing its position as one of the largest universities in the state. Plans are in place to boost that number to 50,000.
CSUSM, its younger counterpart, is set to enroll 15,300 students — a number that may near 20,000 in the next five years.
“We need additional facilities for nearly every discipline,” stated Ellen Neufeldt, the president of CSUSM.
The institutions are managing this growth by providing housing for around 6,700 students and constructing large science facilities. They are also gearing up to offer bachelor’s degree programs in South County, which currently lacks a comprehensive university. Over time, this initiative might pave the way for significant satellite campuses.
The increase has fostered a sense of pride and excitement, albeit accompanied by significant anxiety.
The Trump administration has cut, reduced, and delayed billions in university research funding nationwide since the beginning of the year, and there’s no end in sight.
CSUSM, aspiring to become a hub for scientific research, managed to increase its government funding by $1.7 million. In contrast, SDSU saw a decline of nearly $29 million in grants.
This was a severe blow for the campus, which achieved a long-desired classification as a Research 1 institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in April, joining the ranks of elite research universities, including MIT and UC San Diego.
Like many university leaders across the nation, SDSU President Adela de la Torre has not publicly addressed the Trump administration about the funding cuts. Instead, she and Neufeldt are concentrating on expanding their campuses amidst a challenging, costly, and confusing educational landscape.
California’s community colleges, an essential pipeline to California State University campuses, began experiencing enrollment declines in 2018, a trend that worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many CSU campuses started to recover by last year, although several, particularly in Northern California, continued to struggle, where the overall population decline was more pronounced than in Southern California.
San Francisco State University has 4,718 fewer students today compared to 2020, in a city that has seen a loss of over 30,000 residents in the past five years.
However, the exact reasons for SFSU’s challenges — along with those of other CSU campuses — remain unclear.
“Anyone who claims to know the reasons is likely not being truthful, as I don’t think we fully understand,” remarked South County Assemblymember David Alvarez, a member of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance.
The issues do not stop there.
By 2033, the California Department of Finance projects that the number of high school graduates in California will decrease by over half a million in just a decade, largely due to falling birth rates. This could lead to a reduced pool of prospective college students.
At first glance, SDSU and CSUSM appear unaffected by this trend.
SDSU, a 128-year-old nationally recognized institution, received a historic 123,000 applications for fall enrollment. Nevertheless, the university only accepted about 38% of those applicants — a decision influenced by its ongoing need for more classrooms, labs, and housing, which are in development.
“If we were to increase our capacity, we would enroll significantly more students,” de la Torre told The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Recently, the San Diego Community College District announced plans to construct a 100,000-square-foot, five-story academic center on SDSU’s new Mission Valley campus, enabling its students to study STEM disciplines in a university setting. The hope is that these students will eventually transition to SDSU, pursuing advanced degrees and contributing to the university’s enrollment growth.
The proposed partnership was facilitated by de la Torre, who recognized that SDCCD possesses the financial resources that SDSU needs.
Last fall, voters approved a $3.5 billion bond for SDCCD, which will allow them to utilize a portion of those funds to cover most of the costs associated with the new academic center. This facility will be shared by both institutions and could entice tenants to SDSU’s burgeoning innovation district, where students and faculty will collaborate with industry researchers.
SDSU is also taking steps to tackle one of the central challenges facing the CSU system — a shortage of student housing.
The system has introduced over 17,000 beds statewide in the last decade and is in the process of adding another 5,600, according to a recent CSU report. However, an additional 12,600 beds may be necessary by 2030 to accommodate projected growth across the system.
SDSU has recently begun the first phase of Evolve, a student community that will eventually add 5,200 additional beds, elevating the university’s housing capacity to over 13,000. The project could be as costly as $1 billion.
Meanwhile, CSUSM is also striving to increase its housing capacity. This semester, it will accommodate approximately 2,100 students, with expectations of rising to 3,585 by late 2027 as new dormitories become operational.
This increase involves a strong collaboration with Sea Breeze Properties, which is developing North City, a mixed-use residential, educational, entertainment, and dining district situated just across from the university, aiming to replicate the vibrant Westwood area in Los Angeles that is near UCLA.
Sea Breeze has constructed substantial dormitories in North City intended for use by CSUSM students. Their partnership is set to deepen as Sea Breeze commences construction on an 11-story complex intended to accommodate another 930 students.
Close by, the 460-unit 222 North City apartment building will be open to anyone but is expected to attract university staff and personnel contributing to the $1.2 billion medical center that Scripps is developing on its property. This center will provide clinical opportunities for students enrolled in CSUSM’s nursing program, one of the largest in the state.
Neufeldt is eager for accelerated progress.
“I’m immensely proud that people can travel to this campus and access education,” she remarked. “However, it’s equally vital that individuals have a safe place to rest their heads at night.”
De la Torre echoed similar thoughts while discussing the new Mission Valley campus, viewing it as a significant launchpad for students and scientific endeavors.
Such insights are not surprising to Adam Day, a San Diego entrepreneur who served a decade on the CSU Board of Trustees, including two years as chair.
“Ellen and Adela have clear visions and objectives, and they consistently remain on course,” Day stated. “This consistency is a shared characteristic. They are truly achieving remarkable successes.”
