Ganzul Bayarsaikhan, a business administration student, is transferring to San Jose State University next semester.

It’s a decision she’s contemplated after years of four-hour round-trip BART commutes between San Jose and San Francisco, but her decision was solidified with San Francisco State University’s limited Spring 2025 semester course availability and a glance at the newly released fall schedule — one that further lacks necessary classes for her major.

“It was kind of hard to find classes —  the major classes,” Bayarsaikhan said. “Because the lower division one is not available, you simply cannot take any major classes. I think this is what’s happening to me this semester… I could not take any major classes because it was simply not available.”

Michael Scott, the interim vice provost for academic resources, said course schedules are based on optimal predictions for enrollment and needed classes. Scott explained that the Fall 2025 schedule is still being built and changes are expected within the next few weeks to address shifting variables.

By next semester, students can expect adjustments to course sizes and selections, and changes to the general education requirements, like revisions to Area C and the elimination of Area E.

“Due to all these changes, a direct comparison to last year’s schedule would not provide an accurate representation,” Scott said.

Bayarsaikhan isn’t the only individual making stretches to meet her educational goals. 

The thinned course schedules also include fewer faculty members, caused by SFSU’s budget cuts.

According to Provost Amy Sueyoshi, who is also the vice president of Academic Affairs, a decade’s worth of 5% enrollment drops per year influences two main sources of income for the school.

“We also have the chancellor’s reallocation, which is if you’re this amount of distance away from the target [enrollment] that the Chancellor’s office gives you, then you get a 6% reduction in the allocation to our campus,” Sueyoshi said. “And then we have the California State Legislature, which right now has a 7.95% reduction. It also means we don’t get the tuition revenue. So with all that in mind, we’ve had to plan for a reduction every year in terms of the way we offer classes.”

To find balance within these budget reductions, Sueyoshi explained that the school has had to make hard decisions. Although she doesn’t create course schedules, she believes that department chairs and deans collaborate to offer the best classes possible to move their students toward graduation by finding substitutes for ones that are required by not offered.

“We’re absolutely committed to getting folks to graduate,” Sueyoshi said. “With the 7.95% state reduction, we may need to not offer the courses that students will need to graduate because the reduction is so severe… And I think sometimes we say we have the classes you need, but it’s not always the classes you want.”

Despite Sueyoshi’s consolation for prospective graduates, some students still don’t see viable options for their Fall 2025 schedules. 

Celeste Schultz, a visual communication design student, said her timeline to graduation will undoubtedly be extended.

“There’s specific classes we have to take, and the max limit is 22 students,” Schultz said. “But there’s way more [students] in our department, so we’re all going to be struggling to get the main classes we need. I think it will make me stay here a little bit longer. I wanted to try to get through college as fast as possible.” 

According to SFSU’s daily course enrollment report for Fall 2025 updated on May 1, almost all courses in the School of Design, which visual communication design falls under, have enrollment capped at 20 to 25 students. 

Sol Arellano, a studio art student, has noticed a similar trend in the School of Art, with fewer courses each semester, making obtaining a necessary spot in a class into a “competition.” 

“Now it’s even more competitive because they have less sessions available,” Arellano said.

Planning ahead, Arellano enrolled in a summer course, an undesired but necessary approach to keep her on track to graduate on time. 

“It makes me feel uneasy,” Arellano said. “But now with all this… it’s a lot more stressful because I’m so uncertain about all my classes being available next semester. And this summer will be the first time I’ve had to take a summer class in my time here.”

This uneasiness is shared by faculty. Professor Emerita Constance Ulasewicz was chair of the family, interiors, nutrition and apparel department. She returned this semester to teach a single in-person class. 

As a longtime faculty member, Ulasewicz said it’s not the first time SFSU has seen tough budget cuts, and similar to students, faculty members have to be flexible with allotted work. In her words, it’s “part of the gig.”

“If in my department, they have to drop classes because there’s not as many students because of budget cuts, I need to have another class to teach,” she said. “Faculty want to know what they’re going to teach, students want to know what they’re going to take. It’s not a good situation. But I do not believe anyone wants us here. No one wants this to be happening.”

Scott said the university is trying its best to accommodate students’ needs.

“Departments care about their students,” Scott said. “It’s a hard thing for us to get completely accurate, but we work as hard as we can.”