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To keep up with rising enrollment numbers and help students access the courses they need, Sacramento State announced Tuesday it has added 4,251 seats and created 135 new course sections across its colleges for the summer session and fall semester.
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This will allow the campus to serve more than 27,000 full-time equivalent students in the fall, a campus spokesperson said, marking an increase in capacity of more than 1,000 students. Last fall, the school had a population of nearly 26,967 full-time equivalent students. Although too early to forecast enrollment numbers for fall this year, the school has experienced a trend of enrollment growth over the last few years. That growth has prompted a parallel concern over shortage of seats in university classes.
This capacity expansion is focused on “high-demand bottleneck courses” that regularly require students to wait a semester or more to enroll, general education classes for incoming transfer students and major-specific requirements that seniors need to graduate. The new sections will be offered across the university’s full timetable — including early mornings, evenings and weekends — to provide students greater flexibility in fitting courses into their academic and personal schedules, leaders said.
“This is about ensuring our students have every opportunity to succeed,” said Sacramento State President Luke Wood in a statement. “Access to the right courses at the right time is essential to student success and timely graduation. These additional sections reflect our commitment to putting students first and providing the support they need to achieve their educational goals.”
In a message to the campus community in May, Wood said the campus’ top budget priority for the 2026-2027 school year — based on the state budget allocation — was to add course sections to ensure Sacramento State can meet student demand and support timely degree completion. This priority was identified, he said, based on “the critical needs” voiced by faculty and staff.
Earlier this year, Sacramento State registered its highest ever spring enrollment. Between 2015 and 2025, the school’s enrollment grew by more than 3%, according to California State University data. Even as several other CSU campuses deal with shrinking student populations as a result of demographic shifts and the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sacramento campus has managed to grow its headcount.
Read more Sacramento State adds course sections, expands capacity amid enrollment growth
But this healthy enrollment has not been without challenges. In a June 1 message to the campus community, interim Provost Mary Maguire pointed to the persistent problem of students being held back due to a shortage of available seats in the courses they need. In a September story, student newspaper The State Hornet documented students’ struggle with availability of classes amid growing enrollment and parallel state budget constraints.
“To better position us to serve students the way we intend, we are shifting our posture: from reacting and managing to planning ahead,” Maguire wrote. “This means making section decisions earlier, with greater intention, so that the courses students need are in place before the gaps become emergencies.”
The school is committed, she wrote, to “get ahead of student need.” Maguire was appointed interim provost and vice president for academic affairs June 1, replacing Erika Cameron who had been in the role for only 15 months. Adding new course sections was the first promise she made to the campus community on assuming her new role.
Ensuring course access is essential to maintaining good graduation rates. Sacramento State’s four-year graduation rate — measured as the percentage of students who entered the university as first-years and graduated in four years — has risen from 9% in 2016 to more than 30% at present. Still, the school’s rate remains below the systemwide average of 37.3%.
Sacramento State added about 40 course sections in high-demand areas for the 2026 spring semester. The school will continue evaluating enrollment demand through the scheduling cycle and will add additional sections where appropriate and feasible, campus leaders said.
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