CSUMB enrollment climbs for a third year

By Mark Muckenfuss

For the third year in a row, enrollment increased at Cal State Monterey Bay. 

According to Elizabeth Rountree, interim vice president for Enrollment Management, total enrollment for the fall semester is up nearly 5% over last year. The “total head count” figure went from 8,233 last year to 8,628.

Full-time enrollment, a measure used to determine how much state funding the university receives, was up slightly less, going from 7,530 to 7,875, a 4.6% gain. 

Perhaps more importantly, new student enrollment – first-year and transfer students – bumped up 5.5% from 2,812 in 2025 to 2,967.

“It is exciting to see the increased demand and continued interest in our institution,” Rountree said. 

Figures for individual programs and colleges were either up or the same for the most part, she said. 

“Our yield of first-year and transfer students also went up,” she said, referring to the percentage of admitted students who enroll. “It went up by 2%, which means a higher number of admitted students are choosing to enroll at Cal State Monterey Bay.”

Some of the biggest program jumps happened in newer majors. Accounting, which came online last year, went from 176 students to 259, an increase (as all accounting students should know) of 47%. Mechatronics grew by 43% (from 111 to 159)  and agribusiness and supply chain management was up 38%, rising from 39 students to 54.

Among graduate programs, the Master of Social Work was notable, increasing its cohort of students from 242 to 288, a jump of 19%.

Rountree said it is too early to tell how CSUMB did in relation to other CSU campuses since data is not yet available. She said one thing that she thinks contributed to the increased enrollment was the new Otter Promise program, which launched this fall and guarantees that tuition and mandatory fees will be fully covered for qualifying students. 

“I think we can say it was a success and may be one of the main factors in our increase in students,” she said of the program. “We will be continuing that this year, and we’ve expanded the qualifying criteria so we hope to help even more students afford a Cal State Monterey Bay education.”