California State University, Northridge
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Monday, January 30, 2012
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Students heated over enrollment freeze
Charlie Kaijo / Daily Sundial
CSUN students march through campus to protest a freeze on permission numbers to add classes.
Stefanie De leon Tzic daily sundial
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Volume 53 Issue 65 • A financially Independent student newspaper
According to Attias, the communications department was affected more than any other department because of the heavy concentration of General
See enrollment, page 2
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ore than 70 CSUN students lead by members of Central American United Student Association, Students for Quality Education and MEChA marched through campus in protest of a recent decision made by CSUN administrators to only allow graduating seniors to add classes. Starting outside Oviatt Library and winding their way through campus to Bayramian Hall, the students protested in response to CSUN's decision to only allow graduating seniors to get permission numbers to add classes. “I want to see clarity as to what’s going on,” said Osvaldo Ortiz, 22, a member of CAUSA who lead the march. “It’s frustrating. We want cooperation from the administration—to actually have a dialogue
OPINION Sparks flying over smoking issues p. 6
with students.” The protest later moved to University Hall where they were addressed outside by Interim President Harry Hellenbrand and acting administrator of academic affairs, William Watkins. “Clearly some students are going to be frozen out this term and I’m terribly sorry about that, but that’s the situation,” Hellenbrand said to the group. The decision to halt enrollment was made in order to avoid a possible $7 million penalty from the CSU for exceeding the target enrollment number. According to Hellenbrand, CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed said that enrolling more students than state funds are allocated for sends
a message to the California government that the campus can continue to operate on the current budget, jeopardizing possible increases in state money in the coming semesters. “I have an argument with Reed about the rational because I don’t think the money is there to e p e . S 4a be gotten,” Helt he S n lenbrand said. “But there is some logic to the rational.” The CSU is doing everything it can to lobby the state government for more funding, as CSUN has exceeded its target enrollment by 6 percent, said
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Department of Communication Studies Suffers
Carl Robinette
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meeting to discuss the cap on unit registration, why classes were cut and students inability to add courses was held Friday in the Aronstam Library by the Department of Communications Chair Dr. Bernardo Attias. The state calculates the number of students enrolled at CSU campuses by the number of units they’re enrolled in, or full-time equivalent students. Fifteen units equals one FTES. The state uses FTES to calculate how much money is given to universities. Once a university goes over that target and continues to admit students, it will face penalties from the CSU. The money from the additional
students’ tuition stays on the campus, rather than going back to the CSU, Attias said. “Up until recently, the chancellor (Charles B. Reed) had been allowing campuses to go over target and keep that money on campus," Attias said about the cap, which was implemented this semester. Now, he is strictly holding that campuses can’t go 3 percent over its target because the campus will be penalized $7 million, Attias said.
Students protest unit caps and permission number freeze
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Meeting held to discuss social media’s role in bringing awareness to the crisis
See protest, page 2
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