Sonoma State University enrollment takes a hit amid massive budget cuts

SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Last year, Sonoma State had nearly 5,800 students. It was already one of the smallest campuses in the California State University system. Now, after dramatic cuts, Sonoma State says it has an even 5,000 students -- a 13% drop.

"You definitely feel it. I remember last semester. I definitely felt a bit of a ghost town. And then, especially now, with a drop of athletes," said Angel Barahas, a senior at the university.

Early this year, the university announced massive cuts amid a financial crisis, slashing several academic programs and its entire athletics department. The cuts kicked in this fall.

"We lost students. I know we lost roommates and friends who said, 'I don't want to be there if there's not athletics there,'" said Marcus Ziemer, former SSU men's soccer head coach. "They're trying to use club sports as a kind of event for everybody to go to. But it's not the same as intercollegiate athletics."

"The cuts that happened this last January had an impact for sure. We were expecting a drop of about 1,112students, but, thankfully, we didn't hit that," said Paul Edwards, the university's interim vice president for Strategic Enrollment Management. "Obviously, when you cut sports programs or the entire athletic program altogether, there's obviously a headcount number, for sure, of the athletes, that you tend to lose."

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However, the loss extends beyond the more than 200 student-athletes who didn't return.

"Then you have recruits that you were possibly trying to bring in in the next year. So there's no doubt, you know, athletics is important for a thriving student body," Edwards said.

The university is now taking on a more targeted approach to recruiting students, reaching out beyond its typical six-county radius.

"We want to expand out beyond our region, so we're looking for data on where we've seen applications before and maybe not seen the yield. We are focusing on our community college system now, probably more than ever before," Edwards said.

They're also bolstering their guaranteed admissions program. This fall's admission rate was above 90%, with roughly 50% of admitted students enrolling.