Cal State Fullerton will limit applicants for the spring 2013 semester to transfer students who have completed designated associate degrees, the California State University system announced Monday.

Fullerton is one of only 10 of the system’s 23 campuses that will accept any new students for the spring semester. Only students who have completed an Associate Degree for Transfer can apply to these campuses. The other 13 campuses will suspend all new admissions until fall 2013, officials said.

The move is in response to ongoing state budget cuts to the nation’s largest public university system, including the threat of $250 million in additional cuts if Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed tax initiative fails at the November ballot.

“Providing access to a quality education for students of California continues to be a bigger challenge as ongoing reductions in state funding are forcing campuses to reduce enrollment to match the level of available funds,” Ephraim Smith, CSU executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer, said in a written statement.

“An additional mid-year cut could result in even further reductions to enrollment. However, despite these challenges, students who earned an Associate Degree for transfer will be admitted to a CSU campus,” he said.

Transfer students can begin submitting applications Wednesday only to Cal State Fullerton, CSU Channel Islands, Chico State, CSU East Bay, Humboldt State, Cal State Los Angeles, Sacramento State, Cal State San Bernardino, San Francisco State and Sonoma State.

Officials did not specify how many transfer students would be accepted to each of these campuses.

CSU trustees had announced earlier this year they would limit enrollment for the spring semester to all campuses following several years of state cuts. Since 2007, the 23-campus system has lost more than $1 billion in state funding.

In September, trustees are expected to approve a contingency plan for the potential $250 million cut, which could include a 5 percent tuition hike, employee furloughs and layoffs, and other reductions to programs and services.

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