CSUMB seeing an student enrollment drop, according to study

SEASIDE, Calif. (KION-TV)- The California State University system is seeing low enrollments in almost all campuses throughout the state.

"I'm just shocked at how the numbers went down," said Annie Hernandez who works at California State University Monterey Bay.

Those numbers are down by 12.5% from 2019 to this year at CSUMB according to a study by the Campaign for College Opportunity.

Hernandez and other students on campus pointed the finger at a recent tuition increase.

"I do know about, raising tuition that has gone up since last semester. I do know that it has affected a lot of students," said Hernandez.

California State University, the largest public university system in the country say there has been a 6.5% drop in the number of new enrollments since 2019.

The study shows 820 fewer students enrolled at CSUMB since 2019.

Nine campuses which includes CSUMB suffered enrolment decreases in freshmen, transfer, and continuing students.

"I think there's more opportunities outside of college, and minimum wage is going up so people don't feel the need to go to college and get a degree," said Mara Biglieri, a student at CSUMB.

Biglieri went on to say looking for housing locally as a student is also a challenge.

"I think outside of campus would definitely be harder to get housing in Monterey," said Biglieri.

Hernandez points out is a silver lining behind fewer enrollment numbers.

"I feel like you do get the one one-on-one experience here in school," said Hernandez.

KION reached out to CSUMB to see if the drop in enrollment is affecting jobs and recourses on campus.

"We have had a decline in enrollment, and we are in the process of developing a balanced budget that will allow us to maintain the programs and resources that support the success of our students while also providing opportunities to invest strategically in areas that will help us to grow enrollment and develop new degree programs that are in demand. While we have already cut overhead and operating expenses in the fall semester, we are now exploring additional ways to realign our budget. Our next steps include evaluating the restructuring of departments and divisions, course offerings, and class sizes as well as other possibilities to reduce our expenditures."

A CSUMB Spokesperson said in a statement

The unviersity with the largest drop in enrollment is up north at Sonoma State University. They are seeing a drop of over 34%.