By Sarah Hughes

The university’s recent decision has freshman and transfer students at CSUSM this year facing a constrictive 13 unit credit limit due to budget cuts.

This semester there are limited course offerings, and in order to allow everyone the best possible selection of classes available, all other students are subject to a 17-unit limit.

Administration seems reluctant to comment. Everyone I spoke with seemed to think someone else would have something better to say than themselves. Is there fear of backlash from above?

Many I spoke with seemed to express a veiled frustration with the topic. The whole purpose of a credit limit is to protect CSUSM from ongoing California budget issues that have drastically affected education in recent years. Budget cuts are necessary when funds are low, but they always hurt someone. In this case it’s students trying to make it through, and faculty and staff who probably don’t need any more furloughs, pay cuts or resource reductions.

While many students seem willing to complain about the credit limit, in deeper conversation, most seem to have formed some kind of rationalization and tolerance for it.

“I don’t like it, but I understand why it is there,” Daniel Campbell said, a transfer student from Palomar College who fears the credit limit will postpone his graduation.

Luciana Byrnas, another new transfer student, said that having too many credits at one time can lead to bad grades, rob you of the campus experience and affect your personal life. She said she once took 24 units at a previous college.

While I take 12 units per semester, in addition to a job and different extracurricular activities, I still feel that people deserve the option of taking more credits so that they can graduate earlier and not have to pay as much tuition.

A 17-unit limit prevents a student from taking a sixth class. Is this effective?

I have proven myself as an adult and student and I can make my own decisions. The real issue here seems to be the funds that support more classes and teachers to teach them. If funds are not available, give students an option to pay for these classes instead of taking them away.