(a) An applicant who is not otherwise eligible for admissions either as a first-time freshman pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 40751) or as a transfer student with fewer than 60 semester (90 quarter) units pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 40801) may be admitted to a campus provided that he or she is a disadvantaged applicant for whom special compensatory assistance is available, and provided further that the number of applicants enrolled in the California State University pursuant to this Section for any college year shall not exceed 4 percent of all undergraduate students enrolled for the first time in the California State University during the previous college year exclusive of those who enrolled after being admitted under the provisions of this article. The Chancellor may establish, and may from time to time revise, procedures for the administration of this Section.

(b) As used in this Section, the term “disadvantaged applicant” means an applicant who comes from a low-income family and who has the potential to perform satisfactorily on the college level but who has been and appears to be unable to realize that potential without special assistance because of economic or educational background.