News and Information for California State University Leaders.
Volume 1, No. 7: December 5, 2001

www.CalState.edu

Online Applications Up 69 Percent

Admission applications through CSUMentor, the online system that helps students and their families plan for and apply to the California State University, increased by 69 percent during the initial application period for fall 2002. CSUMentor received a total of 157,960 applications between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30, up from 93,672 during the same period last year.

Despite this year’s near-avalanche of applications, the CSUMentor system processed the information smoothly and without any delays. The Los Angeles-based Xap Corporation, which designed CSUMentor, had increased its server capacity in anticipation of a record-setting pace of applications. And even with 20,358 applications received on the Nov. 30 deadline and 19,485 received on Nov. 29, there appeared to be no “midnight rush” of last-minute applications that might have slowed the system down.

“This was a banner year for CSUMentor, thanks to the students, their counselors, and the Xap Corporation,” said Allison Jones, the CSU’s assistant vice chancellor for student academic support. “Students, with the help of their counselors, completed their college planning early and applied on time, while Xap did its part to help the CSU handle the load efficiently. It’s clear that CSUMentor has become a valuable college preparation tool for California’s students.”

The CSUMentor system has experienced soaring popularity since it was first implemented in 1997. This fall’s increase follows a 70 percent increase in online applications in fall 2000, and a nearly 400 percent increase in fall 1999 over the previous year. It is estimated that nearly half of all applicants to the CSU will apply on line this year.

After the initial fall 2002 application period, which lasted from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, campuses will continue to accept applications on a space-available basis. Two campuses, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and San Diego State, only accept applications during the initial filing periods. CSU Chico and CSU Long Beach only accept applications from first-time freshmen during the initial filing period. Sonoma State will accept applications from first-time freshmen during October, November, or December only for fall 2002 applicants.

Filing during the initial application period is required for high-demand majors and is strongly encouraged for applicants who want to attend their first-choice campus.

CSUMentor, which is a free service, also offers multimedia campus tours, student-campus matching assistance, free e-mail accounts, academic planners, and assistance in completing financial aid forms. Students pay only the application fee charged by the CSU campus when they submit an application for admission.

For more information, see www.csumentor.edu.

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

• “Publisher’s Picks”

Nineteen CSU campuses were named in the Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education’s “Publisher’s Picks,” an annual list of U.S. higher education institutions that the magazine sees as offering “outstanding opportunities to Hispanic students.” The CSU campuses included are Bakersfield, Chico, Dominguez Hills, Fresno, Fullerton, Hayward, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Northridge, Pomona, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, San Marcos, and Stanislaus. For more information about the magazine, see www.hispanicoutlook.com/.

• Teacher Prep Standards

The CSU Academic Senate’s Teacher Education and K-12 Relations Committee has convened a meeting for CSU subject-matter faculty and administrators to discuss California’s recently adopted teacher preparation standards. The new standards call for a closer integration of teacher preparation efforts and subject-matter preparation and will require the participation of faculty from throughout the university. The group will meet at LAX Crowne Plaza Hotel on Dec. 6-7. For more information, contact Lynne Cook at CSU Northridge: lynne.cook@csun.edu.

• Campus News Online

Looking for the best one-stop resource for current campus news? Visit the CSU’s Newsline at www.calstate.edu/newsline/. Newsline, updated Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, features the latest campus news and offers links to campus news sites for more information.

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