Fewer freshmen will descend upon Eau Claire’s campus next fall due to state budget cuts.

“It’s an access issue,” Admissions Director Bob Lopez said. “We can’t grant access to as many students coming through the door.”

Deciding on admission numbers is difficult because the university will accept many more freshmen than will actually choose to attend Eau Claire in any given year, Lopez said.

Last school year, 4,641 freshmen were accepted for fall 2002, and target freshman enrollment was 2,085. Currently, 2,050 freshmen are enrolled.

Determining how many students to accept “is a little bit of a game,” Lopez said.

The exact numbers will be determined when the university figures how many students actually are enrolled during the next two weeks, Vice Chancellor Andy Soll said.

However, Soll said the budget cuts, being felt throughout the UW System, won’t mean a dramatic reduction in overall enrollment.

“I don’t think we’re talking a significant difference,” Soll said.

Another factor in reducing freshman enrollment is the importance of keeping the quality of student education at Eau Claire, officials said.

Decreased freshman admittance is increased retention – a positive thing, Soll said.

“The decrease in enrollment doesn’t mean we’re serving fewer students,” he said.

In dealing with budget cuts, the university essentially has three choices, Soll said.

The university can raise the price of tuition, keep tuition the same and admit fewer students, or keep the same number of students and compromise the quality of their education, he said.

The latter, Soll said, really isn’t an option.

“If enrollment is reduced, it will be in the student’s best interest,” Soll said. “It will be for the purpose of preserving quality.”

Budget cuts are affecting all areas of the university, Lopez said, and tuition increases aren’t desirable.

“How long do you keep passing (the burden) on to students?” he said.

Student Senate President Sarah Schuh agreed that education could suffer if there are no admissions reductions.

“The university is really between a rock and a hard place,” Schuh said.

However, students can be proactive in addressing budget problems that ultimately might affect them, she said.

The best way to do this is to vote in upcoming elections.

“Students really do have an opportunity to say we care about our education,” she said. “If we don’t vote, we’re not behind (our representatives).”