Enrollment Rises 16% at CSUN Site in Ventura

VENTURA — The Ventura campus of Cal State Northridge opened its fall semester Monday with a 16% increase in enrollment over a year ago--a jump officials attribute to new programs and the promise of a full-fledged university on the horizon.

The 22nd year of satellite classes in Ventura County has again set records for attendance, said Joyce Kennedy, the longtime director of the offshoot university.

“More and more people are finding out about us,” Kennedy said. “We have a very solid track record, and we had a record number of people who graduated last spring, almost 400.”

The campus’ full-time equivalency enrollment has reached 715. The campus has drawn more than 1,500 students, but many are not taking a full course load, Kennedy said.

Those numbers reflect sharp increases over the last two semesters, she said.

“As of today, we’re up 12% over spring and 16% over last fall,” she said. “And it’s still climbing because students have another two weeks to sign up or add classes.”

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At Cal State Northridge’s main campus, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, attendance also is up. With 25,838 students, it is on track to meet enrollment levels not seen since the year before the Northridge earthquake.

The most popular classes continue to be in the teaching credential program, business administration and child development, Kennedy said.

“Many of our classes are full, but that’s not alarming,” she said. “We’re steering people into classes that aren’t yet full, and we’re adding class sections wherever we can.”

Kennedy credits at least some of the higher enrollment figures on two new programs that have drawn scores of students to the second-story campus off Alessandro Drive.

The Ventura campus now offers a bachelor of arts degree in nursing, a master’s degree in special education and a master’s degree in child development, she said.

Activity at the 30,000-square-foot campus was buzzing Monday afternoon, minutes before the first classes were called to order. Students hunted for parking spaces, wandered the halls, signed up for new classes and waited in lines at the campus bookstore.

Delia Sevilla plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in accounting. She said that taking university classes in Ventura makes her goal of graduating more realistic.

“It’s more convenient, because I have to work,” said Sevilla, a first-time Cal State Northridge student who works as a retail clerk in Oxnard.

“It will probably be harder here, though,” she said, mulling over a spreadsheet of available class sections. “There will probably be more homework and the professors will expect more from us.”

Marisa Miller is a returning student who is one semester shy of a teaching credential. Without Ventura-based university courses, Miller said she would have had to quit work and borrow money to attend college.

“It’s made all the difference,” said Miller, who teaches at Ventura County Juvenile Hall. “This way I’m able to work in the field by day and finish my classwork at night.”

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Kennedy said hopes are high among faculty and students, in part because Cal State officials are finally making progress toward opening a campus in Ventura County, the most populous county in California without a public university.

“Now that Cal State Channel Islands is on the horizon, people know that they will not be left in a lurch,” said Kennedy, referring to a recent decision to name the future university, which is tentatively set for a 260-acre lemon orchard outside Camarillo.

“Students at one time weren’t sure they could finish their degrees here because we didn’t know where our next dollar was coming from,” Kennedy said. “But now, the horizon is brighter than it’s ever been.”

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FYI

Registration continues at the Ventura campus of Cal State Northridge through Sept. 15. The university is located at 2151 Alessandro Drive, Suite 140. For information, call 654-4575.