Although the final numbers for the Fall semester have not yet been processed completely, projected numbers were released at the annual budget meeting on Friday, Aug. 25. University officials said fall enrollment at Sacramento State has increased by more than 1,000 students since 1997.

The three fall semesters prior to 2000 indicate a rising trend and the estimates for this fall term mirror that trend. Data collected through the University?s Office of Institutional Studies shows total enrollment rose from 23,481 in the fall of 1997 to 24,530 in 1999.

Enrollment issues were added to the meeting?s agenda for the first time this year and were discussed by Dr. Bernice Bass de Martinez, the university?s new provost.

Bass de Martinez offered an explanation to the consistent growth in enrollment numbers, linking the university?s population to that of the region.

“We are on a continued upward climb. The demographics across the nation are supporting growth for this state,” Bass de Martinez said.

Information obtained at the Institutional Studies home page shows the number of transfer students seems to be rising at a consistent rate.

Between the fall of 1997 and the fall of 1999, the number of first time transfer students enrolled at the university rose from 3,170 to 3,346. During this time transfer students made up 13.6 percent of the total population on campus.

This means the number of transfer students has increased at the same rate as the general student body. However, the university expects around 3,500 new transfer students to be enrolled this semester.

Bass de Martinez attributed the steady increase of transfer students to a “partnership with community colleges and some private agencies.”

Bass de Martinez also said that convincing students to transfer to Sac State was a priority of the administration.

“We encourage that transfer occur at the end of the first two years. If they want to come to Sac State, we want to get them here now,” she said.

While the amount of transfer students and first-year students has steadily increased, ethnic groups have shifted in different directions over the past three years.

Enrollment increased among Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian, and Filipino groups. Students with backgrounds of American Indian, African-American, Pacific Islander, and Foreign National students reflected lower enrollment numbers, although International student enrollment is projected to be up 19.2 percent this fall.

In contrast to transfer students, percentages of incoming freshmen are increasing at an even higher rate than the student body as a whole.

In the fall of 1997, first-year students numbered 3,079 and accounted for 13.1 percent of the total population. In 1999, that number rose to 3,639 which made up 14.8 percent of students. This fall, first-time freshman enrollment is expected to increase 18.3 percent over last year.

In his annual fall address, Sac State President Donald Gerth commented on the rapid growth among first-year freshman. “Last year we had the largest freshman class in the history of the university, soon to be the second largest,” Gerth said.