PHOENIX--As the state struggles to find enough nurses, Arizona State University has announced plans to cut enrollment at its school of nursing because of an anticipated drop in state funding this year.

State revenues are down because of a sluggish economy, and the university relies on state funding for about a quarter of its budget.

School officials said enrollment will be cut from 80 to 40 students at ASU's Polytechnic campus this spring and by the same amount at the West campus in fall 2009.

Downtown campus enrollment will remain the same, officials said. The cuts apply to students coming into the program and not those currently enrolled.

ASU Provost Elizabeth Capaldi said she hopes it would be a temporary decrease in enrollment that can be reversed when the budget situation improves.

ASU has about 1,800 students in its nursing program, which officials say is the largest in the nation.

ASU officials said they're making plans for anticipated state funding cuts of $25 million or more this year from the university's budget.

That's on top of $30 million in cuts the university already has made.

Cuts in the nursing program are one of several the university is considering. The school is also making plans to cut 200 or more faculty associates, increase some class sizes, and encourage departments and schools to look for ways to bring in more revenue.

Cutting the nursing school would run counter to Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano's goal of boosting the number of nursing and health-care professionals in Arizona.

Last year, the state had 681 registered nurses per 100,000 people, below the national average of 825 registered nurses per 100,000, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Napolitano spokeswoman Jeanine L'Ecuyer said the budget process is ongoing and that no specific cuts have been finalized, but she acknowledged that some hard, hard decisions await.

The state is staring at a shortfall as large as $1 billion for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends June 30.