After completing the fall semester census for 2007, the Office of Institutional Research confirmed that Sacramento State broke an enrollment record that was set in 2002.

Sac State’s enrollment for the fall semester was reported by the OIR as being 28,845. The old record stood at 28,558 in 2002.

Some people may think the campus is a bit more crowded, but according to the OIR, Sac State has only seen an increase of about 300 students when compared to last fall’s enrollment.

An increase in enrollment has been a trend at Sac State. In the past three years, the amount of students enrolling for classes constantly rose.

The enrollment increase brought longer lines for students at the new Hornet Bookstore and makes it harder for students to find parking in the structures and the lots.

Some students at Sac State were not affected by the enrollment increase this year.

“I haven’t seen a change, it’s about the same,” said Stephen Arndt, a 19-year-old mathematics major in his second year at Sac State. “A lot of my classes are pretty empty, only my history class is packed.”

A tremendous drop in the amount of first-time freshmen students was seen in this fall semester census. In the fall of 2006, about 2,655 students were enrolled for classes, yet the number dropped to just over 2,400 for this semester, marking a drop of about 250 students.

Sac State hopes to remedy the problem by speeding up the acceptance notification process, making more outreach efforts to students in Southern California, and improving the communication between campus officials and potential Sac State students.

“I am very excited about the changes we are making and very optimistic about future increases to our enrollment and the support services we are enhancing to help our students succeed and graduate,” said Edward Mills, associate vice president for Student Affairs.

Although first-time freshmen enrollment decreased this semester, increases were seen at the freshmen transfer level and the amount of senior transfers, for those students who meet the specific criteria for those levels.

“There are several complex factors involved in the reduced number of freshmen and we are still analyzing the issues involved. We are already addressing several of these issues for fall 2008,” Mills said.

Tom Kando, sociology professor, noticed an increase in the amount of students this fall at Sac State.

“If there is an increase in enrollment, it would be because the university is making an effort to increase its enrollment and to meet its allotted budgetary allocation, by doing more outreach and by admitting more students,” he said.

Jose Martinez can be reached at [email protected].