As the semester continues, large numbers of “graduating” seniors have resigned themselves to the fact that they will not be able to fulfill various graduation requirements before May. This is because Sacramento State could not guarantee adequate enrollment for its many General Education requirements, including English 20, foreign language and advanced study. This comes in spite of an enrollment boom that is expected to increase into the foreseeable future.

With the overcrowding problem becoming more real each semester, the University has remained content to bury its head in the sand. It can no longer do this.

The California State University, along with Sacramento State, has pledged accessibility to incoming students. As a result, 12,000 new students will enter the CSU next fall. However, it has become apparent that Sac State has been ill-prepared in providing enough essential class sections for the onslaught of new students. Last fall, demand outstripped seats in English 20, a graduation requirement, by 432 seats. For the popular Spanish 7 classes, there were 514 attempts (via Casper enrollment) for only 390 seats.

This has forced many students to remain enrolled for additional semesters when they could be beginning work in their fields. In any event, Sac State administrators must confront the situation. This will require tough decisions, and perhaps sacrifices. The obvious solution for the University would be to simply add more sections of the most impacted classes. Administration, of course, would argue that this is not financially feasible in the face of one the worst state budget crises in years. If this is true, the University may have to consider a second optio: to curb student enrollment. While we commend the University for its commitment to accessibility, we do not believe these concerns should be addressed at the expense of the thousands of students currently enrolled. Of course, the University should recommit itself to expanding once sufficient state funds are available.

If the administration continues in its failure to address its registration problems, it may be faced with even tougher choices down the road. This means lightening its General Education requirements. We hope, however, that they will not allow this problem to threaten the curriculum.