With fewer classes, cramming starts on Day 1 STATE'S FISCAL CRISIS

Students crowd around teacher Joanna Moss hoping to enroll in her Economics class at SF State in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009. Moss, who said cuts in the state budget has forced students to scramble for classes, said attendance was twice as large as usual. less Students crowd around teacher Joanna Moss hoping to enroll in her Economics class at SF State in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009. Moss, who said cuts in the state budget has forced students to ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close With fewer classes, cramming starts on Day 1 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Nearly 80 students packed into a basic accounting class at San Francisco State University on Tuesday, the first day of the fall semester, while dozens more spilled into the hallway hoping to get a seat.

In the Television Department, 56 students tried to crowd into "Age of Information," another basic class with room for just 40 students.

And largely unseen in the crush of students trying to get a college education in the era of budget cuts were those, like Shaun Wong, who were so frustrated that they simply quit.

"I got, like, zero classes, and it wasn't worth staying," said Wong, a would-be sophomore who loves history but has just withdrawn from S.F. State. "By the time it was my turn to register, about the only classes left were, like, fourth-semester Arabic and modern Greek. I need to take second-semester English."

Like all 23 campuses of California State University, San Francisco State is forced to shoulder its share of the $564 million reduction in state funds to the system that educates nearly half a million students - most of modest means who are trying to get an education at an affordable price.

Cost of budget cuts

The San Francisco campus is cutting $30.2 million this year. That means it's offering 354 fewer classes than last year, turning away dozens of lecturers, requiring employees to take two unpaid days off each month - and raising student fees 30 percent higher than last fall.

"I'm pissed because they cut, like, a ton of classes, and we're paying more money - it's stressful," said sophomore Elle Sandbloom, standing in the crowd of business majors forced to remain outside of Professor Scott Jerris' Accounting 100 class because there was no room inside.

Students register online at a time assigned to them. But because so many courses have been eliminated, many students found that classes were full by the time they were told to sign up. So all across campus, students were "crashing" classes - showing up at the classroom door and hoping for mercy from professors willing to take on additional students. It's like going standby on an airline.

Jerris' class is a prerequisite for business classes, and dozens of students tried to crash it Tuesday morning. Later, during office hours, Jerris looked grim.

"I've been a college teacher for 26 years, and I have never seen anything like this today," he said. "It's frustrating for the students, and it's heartbreaking for me."

With 70 seats in the class, and 106 students wanting to sit in them, Jerris was forced to turn many of them away. Just three from the wait list won a spot. Sandbloom, the business major, wasn't one of them.

"This is a bummer because to get financial aid I have to be enrolled in a certain number of classes," said Sandbloom.

Flimsy silver lining

The financial aid problem is shared by many, and Victoria Moore, a graduate-level teaching assistant, witnessed the result: The Latin class she teaches has a waiting list for the first time.

"It's a boon for the Classics Department," said Moore, instantly regretting any hint of pleasure revealed in her words and expressing sympathy for the students' troubles."I'm just trying to look for a silver lining."

Jo Volkert, the school's associate vice president for enrollment management, acknowledged how hard it is for students, staff and faculty. She offered advice for worried students.

"Watch the online class schedule like a hawk," Volkert said, because openings may occur during the three-week period when students can drop classes.

She also advised students to consider taking courses during the intense, three-week winter session that will be flush with courses because it is funded from student fees instead of scarce state funds.

Volkert also said the university may raise fees again to pay for summer courses. "It would enable us to offer more classes in fall and spring," she said.

Meanwhile, senior Danielle Carter, a broadcast major, waited nervously with dozens of students outside of Professor Marie Drennan's "Age of Information" class in the television building.

"If I don't get in, I won't be graduating in December," she said.

As class began in the cavernous TV studio, Drennan explained that she would let in just eight more students, bringing the class size to 48.She would hold a lottery at the end of the three-hour class, so hopefuls could see if they even liked it.

The hours passed. No one left. Drennan looked out at the 56 students, who seemed to be enjoying themselves. She sighed.

Everyone, she said, could stay.