New State Law Offers Direct Admissions into 16 CSUs

At the start of this month, a new law took effect that creates a statewide automatic admission program for high schoolers for most California State University campuses. Called the CSU Direct Admission Program, the arrangement expands a pilot that began with public high schools in Riverside County. 

Through the program, the CSU will work with districts and high schools across the state to get information on whether students are on track to meet college preparatory requirements. The CSU will make an offer of admissions to eligible students, but students still need to submit an application online and select the CSU campuses they wish to apply to. Once they receive official acceptance letters from campuses, students still need to confirm their intent to enroll. 

Students admitted through Direct Admissions are eligible for admission to 16 CSU campuses. High-demand campuses and majors will still require additional requirements to be accepted. 

The campuses not participating in the program are Fullerton, Long Beach, Pomona, San Diego, San Jose, and San Luis Obispo. Students admitted through Direct Admissions are free to apply to those campuses, but getting accepted isn’t guaranteed.

Overall, Senate Bill 640 aims to streamline pathways for students to get admitted to CSU campuses. The bill’s author, state Senator Christopher Cabaldon, said in a press release that the law could also help reverse enrollment decline many campuses have experienced. 

We will keep this new law and its effects on enrollment in mind as the CSU continues to push its austerity messaging.

A pilot for the Direct Admissions Program began in 2024, with high school students getting brochures about conditional admission mailed to their home addresses. The pilot started with 10 CSU campuses and the Riverside County Office of Education. Out of 17,000 students who received direct admissions notifications for fall 2025, 13,200 completed the required paperwork, according to a press release from Cabaldon’s office.

Participation with high schools across the state is set to begin with the admission cycle of fall 2027. 

Other states that run direct admissions programs include Idaho, Minnesota, South Dakota, Washington, Indiana, Hawaii, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Utah, Illinois, Texas, New York, and Oregon.

In addition to the high school students program, the bill also extends and promotes an existing California Community Colleges to CSU transfer program. Called the Transfer Success Pathway (TSP) program, eligible community college students can receive guaranteed admission to their chosen CSU campus and major if they complete transfer requirements. 

The TSP program began in the 2023-24 academic year and had a sunset date of the 2025-26 academic year. The new law extends the program to the 2035-36 academic year. It also expands the period of time a student must complete an established course of study for transfer for guaranteed admission from two to three years. 

Additionally, the new law requires California Community Colleges take specific actions to promote the TSP campus. The actions include sharing information about the program at new student orientation, through an annual email to new students, on the campus website, and in counseling offices and transfer centers.