January 29, 2004

The spring semester is in full swing. Students, faculty and staff are familiar with the telltale signs, including busy cash registers at the SFSU Bookstore, wet weather, and notices around the campus periphery directing automobiles to University parking lots.

Managing enrollment
Classes began Wednesday, Jan. 28, with about 3,500 course sections offered this semester.

Jo Volkert, associate vice president for enrollment planning and management, said preliminary figures indicate a spring head count of at least 28,300 students after the Friday, Feb. 13, deadline to add classes. While this could be SFSU's highest spring enrollment since the early 1990s, the fall 2003 semester enrollment of 29,686 students was an historic, all-time high.

To ensure that the University does not admit more students than it can serve, it has established deadlines for submitting applications for undergraduate admission. SFSU is accepting fall 2004 admissions applications from transfer students with 56 or more transferable units through Feb. 16. Fall 2004 admissions applications from first-time freshmen are no longer being accepted.

Good news for job seekers
Springtime tends to be busy for SFSU students, whether they are planning a vacation during spring break (March 22-26), searching for an entry-level job, or applying for graduate school or a summer internship.

Career Center Director Jack Brewer believes that students in the class of 2004 will be more successful in their job hunt than graduates in the recent, post-dot-com years. He points to the quarterly Job Outlook survey of employers that recruit on college campuses conducted by the National Association for Colleges and Employers. Those polled in the most recent survey said they expect to hire 12.7 percent more new college graduates in 2003-04 than in 2002-03.

"(It's) the first time they have reported an increase in the last two years," Brewer said. "Salaries are still lower than 1999-2001, and the signing bonuses and perks are still nonexistent."

Every year more than 16,000 students take advantage of the Career Center's services, including job counseling, courses, workshops, seminars, fairs, job search resources and on-campus job interviews.

Events aplenty
The spring semester is also full of campus events. Highlights include:

• Feb. 13: Homecoming: Show your Gator spirit in the main gym for the crowning of king and queen. And cheer for the men's and women's basketball teams in games versus UC Davis.
• Feb. 20-21: Veterans of Comedy Wars VII. Get your laugh on at the annual Athletics Department fund-raiser, featuring an all-star lineup of comedians including alumnus Ronnie Schell, Will Durst and Connie Stevens.
• Feb. 21: The Poetry Center's 50th anniversary. Celebrate this SF State literary landmark by attending a special reading with renowned poets Adrienne Rich, Ishmael Reed, Michael McClure, Robin Blaser and Etel Adnan.
• April 3: Johnny Mathis Track Invitational. Named after the 1950s Gator track-and-field star who went on to a legendary singing career, this intercollegiate meet features 800 athletes competing in more than 40 events.
• April 3: Sneak Preview Day. More than 3,000 prospective students visit the campus to get a sneak peek at SFSU and its programs.
• April 29-May 9: Stephen Sondheim's "The Assassins." The dark musical, directed by Tony-nominated playwright and theatre arts Assistant Professor Barbara Damashek, follows 13 infamous assassins as they plot to enact their public crimes.
• May 21: Film Finals. Catch a rising star at the 44th annual showcase of the top student-produced movies from the Cinema Department.
• May 29: Commencement. More than 6,000 graduates will receive their degrees in front of 25,000 proud family members and friends.

For more listings of SFSU events, visit the Web calendar.

-- Matt Itelson

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Last modified January 29, 2004, by the Office of Public Affairs