THE. JOINT HEARING OF THE SENATE
EDUCATION COMMITTEE, AND THE AND
THE SENATE SELECT COMMITTEE ON
STUDENT SUCCESS. MY APOLOGIES
FOR BEGINNING LATE ALL OF US HAD
SOME OBLIGATIONS THAT
UNFORTUNATELY MADE US LATE TO BE
HERE TODAY WITH YOU, BUT WE
EXTEND OUR OUR APOLOGIES FOR
THAT. UM I WANTED TO JUST KIND
OF GO THROUGH THE AGENDA FOR
TODAY, I WOULD HAVE A FEW
OPENING COMMENTS. I THINK MY
COLLEAGUE CHAIR NEWMAN IS GOING
TO DO THE SAME. WE HAVE SOME
WONDERFUL FOLKS WHO ARE GOING TO
TESTIFY AND EXCHANGE. HAVE A
CONVERSATION WITH US ABOUT THE
ISSUE THAT WE'RE HERE TO TALK
ABOUT. AND THEN WE HAVE A PUBLIC
COMMENT PERIOD, AND I WANTED TO
MENTION UP FRONT THAT THERE IS A
PARTICIPANT PHONE LINE FOR THOSE
WHO WANT TO CALL IN AH, AND I'M
GOING TO READ IT NOW IT IS 8772
AND THE ACCESS CODE IS 57000.
THAT'S 5700096. AND LET ME
MENTION THAT IN ADDITION TO THE
TESTIMONY TODAY THAT ANYONE IS
WELCOME TO SUBMIT ANY WRITTEN
TESTIMONY, YOUR COMMENTS AND WE
WOULD WELCOME THAT AND I WILL BE
SURE TO REVIEW IT. UM LET ME
JUST START BY SAYING THAT THIS
IS ISSUE OF STUDENT SUCCESS IS I
KNOW WHY EVERYBODY WHO'S HERE IN
THIS ROOM LIVES EVERY DAY BREEZE
EVERY DAY AND I KNOW IT'S THE
SAME FOR MY COLLEAGUES ON THIS
PANEL THAT THAT WE KNOW HOW
DIFFICULT IT IS TO. AH, TO GET
INTO COLLEGE. WE KNOW HOW
DIFFICULT IT IS TO, UH, GET THE
GRADES AND GET THROUGH THE
CLASSES. WE KNOW HOW DIFFICULT
IT IS TO ENDURE THE COST OF
LIVING AND THE COST OF HOUSING
AND FOOD INSECURITIES, AND
THERE'S SO MANY ISSUES THAT GO
INTO PLAY. TO HAVING OUR YOUNG
PEOPLE AND SOME NOT SO YOUNG,
CERTAINLY YOUNG AND HARD BE
SUCCESSFUL AT OUR FOUR YEAR
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. AND, UM WE
ALSO KNOW THAT. THERE'S SO MUCH
TO CELEBRATE ABOUT OUR GREAT
UNIVERSITIES HERE IN CALIFORNIA
. AH AH, AND IN PARTICULAR, IN
THIS CASE, TALKING ABOUT THE
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, IT
IS AN INCREDIBLE ECONOMIC ENGINE
FOR OUR STATE. IT IS THE WRONG
UP THE SUCCESS LADDER FOR SO
MANY OF OUR STUDENTS. UM AND, UH
AND FOR ALL OF US, WE TAKE SO
MUCH PRIDE IN TALKING ABOUT AH,
HOW MANY ARE GRADUATING THIS
YEAR? WE'RE WALKING ACROSS THE
STAGE OVER WHAT 120 130,000 THIS
PAST YEAR? AND WHAT THAT MEANS
TO THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES, AND
WE ALSO CELEBRATE. UH THE FACT
THAT SO MANY THIS IS THEIR FIRST
TIME FIRST PERSON IN THEIR
FAMILY. BEING ABLE TO GO TO
COLLEGE AND ACHIEVE A COLLEGE
DEGREE, AND THAT IS SOMETHING
THAT BRINGS ALL OF US. GREAT
PRIDE. I KNOW THAT WHEN I WAS A
TRUSTEE OF THE STATE UNIVERSITY,
ONE OF THE MOST ENJOYABLE PARTS
OF MY JOB WAS TO GO TO THOSE
GRADUATION CEREMONIES. PUTTING
ON THE REGALIA WAS SEEMED A
LITTLE SILLY. UH, FOR THOSE WHO
HAD TO WEAR THE HAT, BUT THE
WHOLE CEREMONY WAS A SPECIAL
MOMENT FOR SO MANY FAMILIES AND
PEOPLE AND, AND THAT'S JUST
THAT'S THAT'S WHAT MOTIVATES ALL
OF US. BUT IN ADDITION TO
TALKING ABOUT THE GREAT SUCCESS
IN THE GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT OF
OUR UNIVERSITY SYSTEM, YOU KNOW
OUR JOB IS TO ALSO LOOK AT WHERE
WE CAN DO BETTER. AND THAT'S
BEEN THE PLACE THAT THE SELECT
COMMITTEE AND STUDENT SUCCESS IS
FOCUSED ON. I KNOW IT'S THE
PLACE THAT THE SENATE EDUCATION
COMMITTEE FOCUSES ON, AND THAT'S
WHY WE HAVE INCREDIBLE LEADERS,
INCREDIBLE FACULTY AND STAFF.
THAT MAKE ALL THIS WORK THAT
WE'VE SEEN PLACES IN WHICH WE
CAN DO BETTER. AND THE GOOD NEWS
IS THAT THE INSTITUTION
THEMSELVES AND THE CAMPUSES AND
THE CAMPUS LEADERSHIP RECOGNIZES
THAT TO THAT WE'VE DONE SO WELL
ON ACCESS. WE'VE DONE SO WELL
AND AFFORDABILITY, AND WE'VE
DONE SO WELL ON QUALITY. BUT
THIS ISSUE OF STUDENT SUCCESS
ACTUALLY GETTING THROUGH. AND
GETTING THAT DEGREE IS A PLACE
THAT HAS BEEN A STRUGGLE AND THE
SYSTEM WAS, IN MY OPINION. SLOW
TO OWN UP TO THAT. THAT THAT
THAT THAT THEIR WORK DOESN'T AND
WHEN THEY HAVE ADMITTED THAT
STUDENT THAT JUST DOESN'T END
THERE AND THAT THAT GREATER
CONNECTION TO THEIR LIFESPAN AT
THE UNIVERSITY IS IMPORTANT SO
THAT THEY CAN BE SUCCESSFUL AND
FOR MANY YEARS TO BE HONEST
ABOUT IT. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF
STUDENTS WERE DROPPING OUT. OF
OUR STATE UNIVERSITY WITH DEBT.
AND NO DEGREE. DEAD AND NO
DEGREE. IT'S THE WORST THAT
COULD EVER HAPPEN. AND SO WE, UH
, APPLAUD AND ARE EXCITED ABOUT
THE SYSTEMS GRADUATION 2025
INITIATIVE. THAT WAS GENERATED
INTERNALLY BY THE TRUSTEES AND
THE CHANCELLOR AND THE
LEADERSHIP. AH THEY ENGAGED IN A
THOUGHTFUL ENGAGEMENT WITH
STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT THOSE GOALS
THAT WERE SET TO MAKE THAT 2025
INITIATIVE. AS IT AS WE KNOW IT
TODAY IN TERMS OF MOVING THAT
FOR YOUR GRADUATION RATE FROM 19
TO 40% AND THE SUCCESS IN THAT
SPACE HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS. IT
HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS AND THE
NUMBERS DON'T LIE TO GO FROM 19%
TO 35% IN THE 2018 COHORT THAT
WAS REPORTED LAST YEAR IS
TREMENDOUS PROGRESS AND IN YOUR
MATERIALS FOR THE SELECT
COMMITTEE, IT BREAKS IT DOWN,
NOT JUST SYSTEM WIDE BY CAMPUS
BY CAMPUS. AND THAT'S PART OF
THE EXAMINATION THAT WE HAVE
BEEN DOING LOOKING AT EACH
CAMPUS. HOW ARE THEY DOING? WHAT
ARE THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE
DOING? RIGHT AND WHERE ARE THEY
FALLING SHORT, AND THAT'S PART
OF WHAT WE WANT THIS HEARING TO
TAKE A LOOK AT AND THERE'S A
SECOND CHART IN THERE THAT IS
MORE EVEN MORE IMPACTFUL FOR THE
PURPOSES OF THIS HEARING, AND
THAT'S THE EQUITY GAPS. THAT
WERE STUBBORNLY IN PLACE. EIGHT
YEARS AGO AND CONTINUE TO BE
STUBBORNLY IN PLACE TODAY, AND
IT BREAKS IT DOWN BY CAMPUS BY
CAMPUS TO SEE WHO'S DOING WELL
AND WHO'S NOT DOING WELL, AND I
HOPE THAT IN OUR CONVERSATIONS
TODAY AS UNCOMFORTABLE AS THEY
MAY BE, THAT WE WILL FOCUS ON
THAT, UH, MOST ACUTELY. SO WITH
THAT I WANT TO ALSO INVITE MY CO
CHAIR, SENATOR NEWMAN TO SHARE
ANY THOUGHTS. THANK YOU, SENATOR
GLACIER. I'LL BE BRIEF. GOOD
AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY. IT'S MY
PLEASURE. AS THE CHAIR OF THE
SENATE EDUCATION WE NEED TO DO
AND IN WELCOMING EVERYBODY TO
TODAY'S JOINT LEGISLATIVE
OVERSIGHT HEARING ON STUDENT
SUCCESS, WITH PARTICULAR
REFERENCE TO THE CALIFORNIA
STATE UNIVERSITIES, RECENT
GRADUATION ISSUE OF 2025. I LOOK
FORWARD TO LEARNING ABOUT THE
PROGRESS MADE CHALLENGES FACED
AND EFFORTS REQUIRED TO CREATE A
SUCCESSFUL EDUCATION ATTORNEY
FOR ALL OF THE STUDENTS AT
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY
SYSTEM, PARTICULARLY INTERESTED
TO HEAR ABOUT AND EXPLORE
FURTHER CONTINUED EFFORTS AND
STRATEGIES TO CLOSE STUDENT
EQUITY GAPS. I WANT TO FIRST
THANK COMMITTEE STAFF FOR ALL
THEIR HARD WORK AND PULLING THIS
COMMITTEE TOGETHER. WE ARE
JOINED TODAY BY TWO OTHER
SENATORS, SENATOR ALLEN, FORMER
CHAIR OF THE EDUCATION
COMMITTEE. APPRECIATE YOUR BEING
HERE. AND SENATOR LARRY WHO IS
THE CURRENT SHARE OF THE BUDGET
, SO COMMUNITY OCCASION SO
YOU'VE GOT THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN
THIS ROOM, SO THANK YOU TO THE
CHAIR FOR CONVENIENCE MEETING.
AND THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY WHO
WAS COMMITTED TO PARTICIPATE
TODAY. LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING
YOUR TESTIMONY. THANK YOU. CHAIR
NEWMAN WANT TO INVITE MY EITHER
OF MY COLLEAGUES THAT THERE WAS
ANYTHING THEY WANT TO SAY TO
START? SENATOR LAIRD JUST THAT
WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THIS AND
THREE CYCLES. I'VE BEEN CHAIR
AND I'VE BEEN GOOSED ON IT BY.
UH SENATOR GLASER THE ENTIRE
TIME AND SO I'M REALLY GLAD THAT
IT'S NOT PASSING THROUGH ME THAT
TODAY I GET TO HEAR HIM, ASK THE
QUESTIONS DIRECTLY AND DEAL WITH
THE RESPONSES SO AND I ALSO I
SHOULD SAY THAT SENATOR
SMALLWOOD CUEVAS WANTED TO BE
HERE AND SHE ISN'T AND SHE HAS
GIVEN ME A QUESTION OR TWO TO
ASK THE APPROPRIATE TIME. THANK
YOU. SENATOR LADD SENATOR DAHLE
ONLY COMMENT IS TO THINK THAT
CHERICA LEISURE FOR HIS DOG
FOCUSED ON THIS ISSUE. IT'S
SOMETHING THAT HE CARED A LOT
ABOUT EVER SINCE HE FIRST GOT
INTO THE LEGISLATURE, AND WE
WORKED CLOSELY ON THIS ISSUE
TOGETHER WHEN I WAS EDUCATION
CHAIR AND I THINK HE'S ONTO
SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT. WE
WE VALUE AND RESPECT SO MUCH THE
INCREDIBLE WORK OF OUR CAL STATE
SYSTEM. AND YET WE ALSO KNOW
THAT YOU KNOW, WE GOT IT. WE GOT
IT. IMPROVE THESE RATES AND, UM
IT'S SUCH AN IMPORTANT DRIVER
FOR SOCIAL MOBILITY FOR ACCESS.
AH AND I JUST VERY MUCH SUPPORT
THESE EFFORTS. THANK YOU,
SENATOR ALLEN. SO WE'LL BEGIN
NOW WITH OUR OUR FIRST PANEL. I
WANT TO INVITE UP. AH DR
JENNIFER BRAZIL, WHO'S THE
ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR
STUDENT SUCCESS AND INCLUSIVE
EXCELLENCE, AS WELL AS DR JEFF
GOLD, WHO I KNOW WE'VE HEARD
FROM BEFORE. ASSOCIATE VICE
CHANCELLOR FOR STUDENT SUCCESS.
THANK YOU BOTH FOR COMING. WE
WELCOME YOU TO OUR HEARING
TODAY.
FIRST OFF. GREAT TO SEE YOU
AGAIN AND THANK YOU TO THE
SENATORS FOR YOUR ATTENTION. I
THINK I SPEAK FOR JENNIFER. WHEN
I SAY WE WERE HUMBLED AND
APPRECIATIVE OF THE OPENING
COMMENTS. UM, YOUR PRAISE FOR
THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE. AND
YOUR IMPATIENCE WITH THE WORK
THAT LIES AHEAD IS EXACTLY WHERE
WE FIND OURSELVES. SO THANK YOU
FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND
THE NEXT JUST FEW MINUTES,
PROVIDING A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW
OF OUR OUTCOMES. AND THEN I'M
GONNA TURN INTO MY COLLEAGUE, DR
BRAZIL WHO WILL TALK ABOUT WHERE
WE'RE HEADED IN THE FUTURE. SO,
AS YOU KNOW, GRADUATION
INITIATIVE, 2025 CONTINUES TO BE
AT THE HEART OF THE CSU MISSION.
IT'S WHO WE ARE. IT'S WHAT WE DO
EVERY DAY. IT'S OUR AMBITIOUS
PLAN TO FACILITATE A PATH TO
HIGH QUALITY DEGREE FOR MORE AND
MORE STUDENTS ACROSS OUR
UNIVERSITIES TO INCREASE THE
NUMBERS AND TO ELIMINATE EQUITY
GAPS IN THEIR GRADUATION RATES
WHILE MEETING THE WORKFORCE
NEEDS OF THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA. THE GUIDING
PHILOSOPHY BEHIND OUR WORK IS
REALLY PRETTY SIMPLE, WHICH IS
GOOD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU PUT
A STAKE IN THE GROUND AND YOU
CAN COMMIT YOURSELF TO MEASURING
PROGRESS TOWARDS BETTERING
STUDENT SUCCESS AND EQUITY, AND
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'VE DONE.
I WILL CAUTION THAT IN HEARINGS
LIKE THIS IN THE PAST, ONE OF
THE TENDENCIES IS TO FIND A
SILVER BULLET AND TO FIND ONE
THING THAT ALL CAMPUSES CAN DO
AND I'LL SAY THAT REALLY AT THE
HEART. THIS WORK IS ABOUT
CHANGING CULTURE. IT'S ABOUT
WORKING WITH OUR FACULTY STAFF
AND ADMINISTRATORS CONTINUALLY
LEVERAGING DATA DISAGGREGATED
WAY TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE ARE
SUPPORTING OUR STUDENTS WELL AND
WHERE WE NEED TO IMPROVE AND
THEN INFUSING THAT BEHAVIOR THAT
CULTURE OF CHANGE THAT
COMMITMENT TO EQUITY THROUGHOUT
EVERYTHING WE DO. SEVEN YEARS
INTO OUR GRADUATION INITIATIVE.
AS YOU MENTIONED SENATOR GLASER
, WE HAVE SOME RESULTS THAT
WE'RE INCREDIBLY PROUD OF.
STARTING WITH THE FOUR YEAR RATE
THAT YOU MENTIONED, WE HAVE
ALMOST DOUBLED FROM THE STARTING
POINT OF 19% IN 2015 TO 35% THIS
LAST YEAR AND ALMOST DOUBLING OF
THAT RATE FOR A SIX YEAR RATE
FOR FIRST TIME STUDENTS. WE HAVE
IMPROVED FROM 57% TO 62. AND FOR
OUR TRANSFER STUDENTS ON THE TWO
YEAR, RIGHT? WE'VE IMPROVED FROM
31% TO 40% AND THE FOUR YEAR
GRADUATE. WE'VE MADE AN
IMPROVEMENT FROM 73% TO 80%
GRADUATING. SO AS YOU'RE HERE
SHORTLY, AND AS YOU ALLUDED TO
IN YOUR COMMENTS YOU WILL HEAR
SHORTLY FROM OUR COLLEAGUES AT
THE CAMPAIGN FOR COLLEGE
OPPORTUNITY. SINCE THE ONSET OF
GRADUATION INITIATIVE, 2025 GAPS
IN THE GRADUATION RATES BETWEEN
OUR HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED
STUDENTS IN THEIR PEERS HAVE NOT
DECREASED, AND INSTEAD THEY'VE
REMAINED FLAT, AND IN SOME
CASES, THEY'VE INCREASED
SLIGHTLY. LET ME BE CLEAR. THAT
OUR WORK WILL NOT BE DONE UNTIL
WE ELIMINATE EQUITY GAPS. WE ARE
AS COMMITTED TO THIS AS WE HAVE
EVER BEEN. AH I WILL SHARE IN
THE QUESTION AND ANSWERS
EXAMPLES OF WORK THAT WE'RE
DOING NOW AND WORK THAT WILL
CONTINUE INTO THE FUTURE THAT WE
ARE CONFIDENT WILL HELP US TO
MEET THOSE NEEDS. WE'LL TALK
MORE ABOUT THIS WORK COMING UP,
BUT BEFORE I TURN IT OVER TO MY
COLLEAGUE, DR BRAZIL, I THOUGHT
I'D JUST PROVIDE A LITTLE
CONTEXT BECAUSE AS SOMEONE WHO
WORKS FREQUENTLY WITH NUMBERS,
IT'S EASY TO FOR ME TO RATTLE
OFF FOUR OR FIVE OR SIX
PERCENTAGES OF NUMBERS. TALK
ABOUT A 23 4% SOMETIMES 10%
POINT IMPROVEMENT OVER TIME, BUT
I THINK SOMETIMES WE LOSE SIGHT
OF WHAT THAT MEANS. AND SO IF WE
TAKE, FOR EXAMPLE UH, INTO INTO
OUR INTO ACCOUNT THE FACT THAT
THE CSU IS THE LARGEST FOUR YEAR
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM IN THE WORLD.
WITH CLOSE TO HALF A MILLION
STUDENTS WHEN YOU BREAK DOWN
THOSE INDIVIDUAL 1.2 0.5 0.10
POINT, UM, INCREASES THEY TURN
INTO REAL NUMBERS. REAL STUDENTS
IN REAL LIVES. SO FOR EVERY
PERCENTAGE POINT OF IMPROVEMENT
THAT WE TALKED ABOUT, WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT HUNDREDS AND IN
SOME CASES, THOUSANDS OF LIVES
AND FINALLY, TO PUT THAT IN
PERSPECTIVE. IF YOU TAKE AS A
BASELINE, THE GRADUATION THE
NUMBER OF TOTAL GRADUATES THAT
WE HAD AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
GRADUATION INITIATIVE, AND YOU
SUM UP THE ADDITIONAL CUMULATIVE
TOTAL OF ADDITIONAL GRADUATES
SINCE THE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF
THIS INITIATIVE, YOU OBVIOUSLY
ADD IN ENROLLMENT GROWTH, BUT
CERTAINLY THE IMPROVEMENTS AND
STUDENT SUCCESS. YOU SEE THAT
WE'RE ON TRACK TO HAVE ABOUT
150,000 ADDITIONAL GRADUATES.
THAT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW.
AND TO PUT THAT IN IN IN CONTEXT
, 150,000 LIVES OF OUR STUDENTS
, THEIR FAMILIES, THEIR
COMMUNITIES THAT ARE FOREVER
TRADE CHANGE THROUGH THEIR
ATTAINMENT OF A LIFE CHANGING
QUALITY. CSU DEGREE, SO WE
REMAIN COMMITTED TO THIS WORK AS
COMMITTED AS WE HAVE EVER BEEN,
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO RE
ENGAGING WITH THIS WORK IN NEW
AND VALUABLE WAYS INTO THE
FUTURE. AND FOR THAT, I'M GOING
TO TURN TO MY COLLEAGUE, DR
BRAZIL WHO WILL TALK A LITTLE
BIT ABOUT THAT. THANK YOU. GOOD
AFTERNOON. IT'S GOOD TO BE WITH
YOU ALL. UM I JUST WANT TO
PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF
ADDITIONAL CONTEXT ABOUT THE
WORK OF STUDENT SUCCESS, AND
PARTICULARLY ABOUT THE WORK OF
GRADUATION INITIATIVE, 2025 AND
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR ALL OF
US AT THE CALIFORNIA STATE
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. THE WORK OF
STUDENT SUCCESS UNFOLDED IN
EXTREMELY DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT,
AND I DON'T THINK THAT THERE
HAVE BEEN A MORE DYNAMIC 10
YEARS THAT WE HAVE ALL SEEN AND
THAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE
EXPERIENCED AND THIS REALLY
INFORMS OUR APPROACH TO STUDENT
SUCCESS. UM. AND WHEN WE THINK
ABOUT WHAT GRADUATION INITIATIVE
2025 HAS ACHIEVED FOR THE SYSTEM
, IT IS REALLY CATALYZED, DATA
DRIVEN ACTION ON A SCALE THAT IS
REALLY TRULY UNPRECEDENTED. I
THINK THAT THE OTHER THING
THAT'S IMPORTANT IS THE BOLD
CURIOSITY AND THE PUBLIC
WILLINGNESS OF THE SYSTEM TO
COMMIT TO PRIORITIES, GOALS,
TARGETS AND CONCERTED ACTION. UM
. AND NOW IS REALLY THE TIME TO
BUILD ON WHAT HAS BEEN WORKING
TO UNDERSTAND NOT ONLY WHAT'S
BEEN WORKING, BUT WHY IT'S BEEN
WORKING, WHICH CAN BE
PARTICULARLY CHALLENGING AS
WE'VE AS WE'VE COME TO
UNDERSTAND. REALLY TAKE THESE
BOLD AND UNPRECEDENTED SCALE AND
DEPTH OF INQUIRY AND PRACTICE.
AND TO CHART AND EVEN BOLDER
PATH FORWARD IN THE NEXT 10
YEARS. THERE ARE SEVERAL KEY
INSIGHTS THAT WE HAVE GLEANED,
UM AND I THINK THAT THIS CAN
HELP REALLY INFORMED THE GOAL
SETTING AS WE MOVE THROUGH THIS
FINAL PHASE OF GRADUATION
INITIATIVE, 2025. AND FOR WHAT
IT PORTENDS FOR THE FUTURE.
LET'S SAY WHAT HAPPENS TO 2035,
FOR EXAMPLE. UM. WE LEARNED IN
GRADUATION INITIATIVE 2025 ABOUT
THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATIVE
, INTENTIONAL GOAL SETTING AND A
DEEPLY CONSULTATIVE AND ENGAGED
PROCESS AND WE ARE COMMITTED TO
DOING EVEN MORE OF THAT. UM
WE'VE ALSO LEARNED A GREAT DEAL
ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF
DISAGGREGATE NG DATA. ADDRESSING
GAPS. UM AND GAPS AMONG
UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS. UH
THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF TALK
ABOUT THE CATEGORIES FOR
ANALYSIS IN THIS WORK THAT IS AN
IMPORTANT AND ONGOING
CONVERSATION. BUT THE THING THAT
I WOULD WANT TO SAY IS THAT THE
CATEGORIES THAT WERE REPRESENTED
IN GRADUATION IN 2025 REALLY, TO
US REPRESENT A STARTING POINT,
NOT THE ENDPOINT FOR ANALYSIS.
UM AND THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS IN
WHICH WE CAN LEARN AND GROW FROM
THE MEASUREMENT AND THE
EVALUATION THAT WE HAVE DONE.
THERE ARE A LOT OF FACTORS THAT
AMERICAN SID AERATION AND OUR
GOAL REMAINS TO PROVIDE ACCESS
TO THE INFORMATION THROUGH THE
DASHBOARDS AND ANOTHER
MODALITIES. IN DYNAMIC WAYS THAT
IMPROVED DATA DRIVEN AND DATA
INFORMED DECISION MAKING AN
OUTCOMES. THAT DISAGGREGATED
DATA IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE ON
OUR DASHBOARDS, AND I THINK THAT
WE ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO
EXPAND THAT CULTURE OF DATA
INFORMED DECISION MAKING AS WE
MOVE FORWARD. NOW IN A SYSTEM AS
COMPLEX AND AS VARIED AS OURS,
AS DR GOLD, HAS SAID. DATA MUST
GUIDE OUR ACTIONS AND OUR
PRACTICE. BUT THERE IS NO ONE
SOLUTION AND THERE ISN'T A
SINGLE ANSWER. THIS IS COMPLEX
WORK, IT UNFOLDS IN A DYNAMIC
ENVIRONMENT. UM, AND AS WE ALL
KNOW IT'S GETTING MORE COMPLEX
EVERY DAY. SO WE ARE LASER
FOCUSED ON OUR MISSION AND OUR
TOP PRIORITY, WHICH IS THE
SUCCESS ™OUR STUDENTS.
PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED SUCCESSFUL
TACTICS AND STRATEGIES TO
IMPROVE GRADUATION RATES TO TRY
AND CLOSE THOSE STUBBORN EQUITY
GAPS. TO CONTINUE TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT MAKES THOSE GAPS AND THOSE
DIFFERENCES AND OUTCOMES
CHALLENGING. AND TO UNDERSTAND
EVEN WHAT THE PANDEMIC HAS DONE
TO SHAPE THE ENVIRONMENT IN
WHICH WE WORK AND IN WHICH OUR
STUDENTS LEARN. SO WE WILL
CONTINUE TO SCALE EFFECTIVE
PRACTICES WHILE WE ALSO TRY AND
IDENTIFY NEW AND INNOVATIVE
SOLUTIONS TO SUPPORT OUR
STUDENTS. UM AS DR GOLD SAID,
AND I WANT TO REITERATE WE
REMAIN COMMITTED TO A STRONG
FINISH TO GRADUATION INITIATIVE.
2025. AND WE CAN DO THAT.
PRECISELY BECAUSE OF WHAT WE'VE
LEARNED AS WE PLAN FOR THE
FUTURE IN THESE NEXT TWO YEARS.
AND WE'RE COMMITTED TO APPLYING
EVEN MORE OF THE INSIGHTS THAT
WE HAVE GAINED TO THE ONGOING
WORK OF IMPROVING OUTCOMES FOR
OUR STUDENTS. THERE IS A GREAT
NEED FOR CONTINUED WORK IN
STUDENT SUCCESS. UM AND YOU KNOW
WE'LL BE TALKING ABOUT IT A LOT
TODAY I'M SURE WITH REGARD TO
THE EQUITY GAPS WE'VE ALREADY
STARTED TO ENVISION THE WORK
AFTER 2025, AND WE'VE BEGUN TO
START TO TRY AND ANSWER THE
QUESTION. WHAT WILL THE NEXT
ITERATION OF OUR ONGOING
COMMITMENT TO THIS WORK LOOK
LIKE AND SAY 2035. THERE ARE
LOTS OF SPECIFICS TO DEVELOP,
BUT EQUITY WILL BE AT THE CENTER
OF THAT WORK. THE CALIFORNIA
STATE UNIVERSITY'S NEW VISION
FOR STUDENT SUCCESS WILL BE
GROUNDED IN THE CALIFORNIA STATE
UNIVERSITY CORNERSTONES WORK
THAT UNFOLDED THE GOVERNOR'S
COMPACT AND THE CHANCELLOR'S TO
T GIC WORKGROUPS, WHICH RESULTED
IN STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
MANY AREAS, SUSTAINABLE FUNDING
MODELS, STRATEGIC ENROLLMENT
MANAGEMENT, BLACK STUDENTS,
SUCCESS AND REIMAGINING
GRADUATION INITIATIVE. 2025. AND
THAT WILL REALLY SERVE AS THE
FOUNDATION FOR THE WORK THAT WE
DEVELOP IN ORDER TO BE A LEADER
IN COMPREHENSIVE UNIVERSITY
EDUCATION THAT PROVIDES A
QUALITY AFFORDABLE EDUCATION TO
OUR STUDENTS. AND AS WE EMERGE
FROM THE PANDEMIC, WE RECOGNIZED
THE OPPORTUNITY TO REFRAME OUR
EFFORTS NOT ONLY AS A MORAL
IMPERATIVE TO BETTER SERVE
STUDENTS BUT AS A CRITICAL
STRATEGY FOR MEETING
CALIFORNIA'S CIVIC AND WORKFORCE
NEEDS. IN SHORT, OUR WORK WILL
CONTINUE TO BE REFLECTIVE. IT
WILL CONTINUE TO BE HOLISTIC.
AND WE HOPE TO INTEGRATE AND
PRACTICE MORE NEAR TIME AND REAL
TIME INSIGHTS AND MILESTONES TO
FURTHER REFINE AND GUIDE THIS
WORK. WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR
QUESTIONS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU BOTH VERY
MUCH. DR GOLD. I APPRECIATE YOUR
THOUGHT. THOUGHTS ABOUT CULTURE
CHANGE, AND THAT'S SOMETHING
THAT HAD A LOT OF INSTITUTIONS
IN OUR STATE WHEN YOU USE THAT
WORD CULTURE. UM YOU REALIZE
THAT THAT IS NOT A SIMPLE THING.
IT'S NOT NOT A NUMBER THAT YOU
CAN SAY TWO PLUS TWO EQUALS
FOUR. THAT IT REQUIRES
LEADERSHIP, AND IT REQUIRES, UH
AND A SUCH A COMPREHENSIVE
EMBRACE THAT IN MANY WAYS, IT
ACKNOWLEDGES THE HE HAD THE
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CHALLENGE,
AND I APPRECIATE THAT HONESTY
ABOUT THAT. UM BECAUSE PART OF
THE CULTURE CHANGE THAT WE TALK
ABOUT IS HAVING EVERYTHING BE
STUDENT CENTERED. WE LOVE OUR
FACULTY. WE LOVE OUR
ADMINISTRATION, BUT EVERYTHING
SHOULD BE ABOUT THE STUDENTS.
AND WHEN WE HEAR IN SOME CASES,
THE ANECDOTALLY IN SOME CASES,
NOT THE STORIES OF STUDENTS WHO
FIND THE ROADBLOCKS. UH IN ALL
DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS IN THEIR
COLLEGE EXPERIENCE. UM, WHETHER
THAT'S UH. REQUIREMENT OF A
PREREQUISITE THAT IS AN OFFERED
AND THEREFORE THAT SETS THEM
BACK A SEMESTER OR TWO. OR OF
COURSE, IS NOT IN BEING OPEN TO
WHAT THEY FEEL LIKE. IT'S A
PROPER APPROPRIATE ACCESS THAT
THAT THAT CULTURE CHANGE IS A
BIG DEAL, BUT IT IS ALL ABOUT
BEING STUDENT CENTERED. AND I
KNOW WE TALK A LOT A LOT ABOUT
THAT. BUT, UM, I APPRECIATE HOW
CHALLENGING IT IS. AND I ALSO
APPRECIATED YOU MENTIONING THE
150,000 GRADUATES THAT WOULDN'T
BE THERE TODAY, IF NOT FOR THE
LEADERSHIP OF THE SYSTEM AND AT
EVERY LEVEL TO AN INCREASINGLY
GRADUATION RATE. THAT'S A HUGE
NUMBER AND I'M GLAD YOU YOU'VE
QUANTIFIED IT AS SUCH. DR
BRAZIL. YOU MENTIONED, DATA
DRIVEN AND DATA INFORMED, AND
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE TALK A
LOT ABOUT IN POLICY MAKING IN
TERMS OF HOW WE MAKE GOOD
CHOICES. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT IS FRUSTRATED ME IN AND
THEN MAYBE YOU HAVE SOME
ENLIGHTENMENT IN THIS SPACE IS
THAT UM, WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT
WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS THAT
STUDENTS HAVE WHEN THEY GO TO
COLLEGE. ARE THEY ON THE SIXTH
YEAR PLANNED ON THE 10 YEAR PLAN
ON THE ON THE FOUR YEAR PLAN?
AND WE'VE ONLY BEEN ABLE TO CITE
A UCL A STUDY THAT BELIEVE IT
WAS MANY MANY YEARS AGO. NOW
THAT TALKS ABOUT WHAT WERE THE
EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS COMING
IN IN TERMS OF GETTING THROUGH.
UM HAS THERE BEEN ANY DATA
DRIVEN ANALYSIS? ANY RESEARCH
THAT YOU KNOW OF IN THE SYSTEM
OR BY CAMPUS THAT HAS ASKED THE
STUDENTS WHAT THEIR EXPECTATIONS
ARE WHEN THEY COME IN? I COULD
ANSWER THAT. SO WE DO NOT AS A
SYSTEM HAVE A SURVEY THAT
REACHES OUT TO THE STUDENTS AND
PART OF THAT, AS YOU CAN
IMAGINE, WITH SO MANY STUDENTS
AND SO MANY CAMPUSES THE
CAMPUSES SURVEY YOU'LL HEAR FROM
BOTH THE PRESIDENT AND PROVOST
ON A CAMPUS WILL BE ABLE TO GIVE
YOU ANSWERS TO THAT. SOME OF
THEM HAVE BEEN IN THE PRACTICE
OF CONDUCTING FIRST YEAR STUDENT
SURVEYS FOR YEARS, AND I BELIEVE
ON THOSE SURVEYS ARE QUESTIONS
ABOUT INTENDED DEGREE PATH. AND
HOW LONG HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE A
LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING THAT
TESTIMONY. I HAVE NOT. SEE I
IT'S IT SEEMS TO BE LIKE A BLIND
SPOT FOR THE SYSTEM. BECAUSE YOU
KNOW, THERE WAS A NARRATIVE THAT
HAS BEEN SHARED WITH ME SINCE MY
TIME. THAT I'VE EVER BEEN
INVOLVED IN THE CSU, WHICH GOES
BACK DECADES, AND THAT IS THE
NARRATIVE IS THAT OUR STUDENTS
ARE DIFFERENT. OUR STUDENTS ARE
NOT USED TO THE STUDENTS. THEY
COME INTO THE OUR STATE
UNIVERSITY IN A DIFFERENT
CIRCUMSTANCE WITH DIFFERENT
PRESSURES AND DEMANDS ON THEIR
LIFE. THEY HAVE JOBS THAT THEY
HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF. THEY HAVE
FAMILY THAT THEY HAVE TO TAKE
CARE OF. AND THIS NARRATIVE THAT
THEY'RE ON A FOUR YEAR TRACK IS
NOT A IS NOT OUR KIDS. IT'S NOT
OUR KIDS AND THAT THAT NARRATIVE
HAS BEEN A FRUSTRATING POINT TO
ME. BECAUSE MY EXPECTATION OR
BUT MY BELIEF IS THAT THEY WANT
TO GET THROUGH THAT THEY KNOW
THAT THE DELAY COST THEM MONEY.
AND IN MANY CASES MAY COST THEM
THE ABILITY TO GET A DEGREE. AND
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE UNIT COUNT
AND THERE HAS BEEN SOME MODERATE
GROWTH IN UNIT COUNT OF STUDENTS
AT THE CSU AGGREGATED WE KNOW 15
UNITS IS WHAT IT TAKES TO GET
THROUGH IN FOUR YEARS A
SEMESTER. AND YOU SEE THAT AT
THE CSU. THE UNIT COUNTS ARE
APPROACHING 14 UNITS ON AVERAGE
, SO IT SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE
TAKING THE UNITS TO TRY TO GET
THROUGH. BUT IT'S NOT ENOUGH.
IT'S NOT ENOUGH. I MEAN, UNLESS
POINT ON THE DATA ISSUE IS THAT
IF YOU WERE A BUSINESS TODAY IN
CALIFORNIA, AND YOU WERE LOSING
10,000 OF YOUR CUSTOMERS EVERY
YEAR. YOU'D HAVE A PRETTY GOOD
IDEA ABOUT WHY AS THE SYSTEM
EVER DONE ANY KIND OF
COMPREHENSIVE SURVEY OF THOSE
STUDENTS WHO STOPPED THEIR
DEGREE PURSUITS TO UNDERSTAND
WHY WHAT IT IS THAT REALLY WHAT
IT IS THAT MADE THEM BASICALLY
DROP OUT. THAT'S ANOTHER GREAT
QUESTION, AND IT'S THE SIMILAR
ANSWER TO THE ONE I JUST
PROVIDED. WHICH IS THE SYSTEM
OFFICE AGAIN. I THINK YOU HAVE
TO UNDERSTAND THAT LOCAL CONTROL
AND THE LOCAL RELATIONSHIP WITH
STUDENTS, SO WE, AS YOU KNOW
VERY WELL. WE SIT IN LONG BEACH
WITHOUT STUDENTS IN FRONT OF US.
WE DO NOT TYPICALLY SURVEY
STUDENTS ACROSS THE SYSTEM, BUT
THE CAMPUSES DO THERE IN REGULAR
PRACTICES OF THAT, AND I'VE SEEN
SEVERAL ANALYSES FROM THE
CAMPUSES. THAT HAVE BOTH THE
PROACTIVE SO BEFORE STUDENTS OF
STUDENTS AROUND A PATH THAT MAY
LEAD TO THEM LEAVING THE
UNIVERSITY THERE'S PROACTIVE
CONVERSATIONS. HOW CAN WE HELP?
WHAT'S GOING ON? AND THEN YOU
KNOW, THERE'S ONE STUDENTS HAVE
LEFT. THERE'S RESULTS THAT HAVE
COME BACK. I WILL TELL YOU WHAT
I HAVE SEEN IN THOSE SURVEYS,
ANECDOTALLY AND IT KIND OF
BREAKS YOUR HEART. BUT THE
NUMBER ONE REASON OBVIOUSLY
FILTER THROUGH FINANCES AND LIFE
CHALLENGES. BUT IN MANY CASES,
IT'S THAT THE STUDENTS FELT THAT
ON THAT CAMPUS, THERE WASN'T
SOMEONE THAT CARED ABOUT THEM.
THERE WASN'T THAT CONNECTION AND
I SEE YOU SHAKING YOUR HEAD. YOU
HEAR THAT A LOT. AND I THINK
REALLY, THAT'S AT THE HEART OF
WHAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO
EVERY DAY WITH GRADUATION
INITIATIVE ISN'T THAT GOES BACK
TO THAT CULTURE CHANGE? IT GOES
BACK TO THAT INTENTIONALITY.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT I THINK IS A
LOT MORE SOLVABLE. A LOT MORE IN
OUR CONTROL, AND WE HAVE THE
MORAL IMPERATIVE TO CONTINUE TO
WORK ON EVERY DAY AND THAT IS
FOSTERING THAT SENSE OF
BELONGING FOR OUR STUDENTS AND
THAT INCLUSIVITY SO THAT THEY'RE
NOT ONLY SEE THEMSELVES AT THE
UNIVERSITY TODAY, BUT THEY SEE
THEMSELVES GRADUATING. SO ONE OF
THE THINGS THAT WE TAKE A LOOK
AT IS WE'VE ENHANCED THE BUDGET
OF THE SYSTEM OVER THE LAST FIVE
OR 67 YEARS. SPECIFICALLY TO TRY
TO FOCUS ON THIS. THIS ISSUE OF
STUDENT SUCCESS IN THE EQUITY
GAPS. AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE
DATA ALL WE SEE IS AN AGGREGATED
DATA OF HOW MUCH EACH CAMPUS GOD
BUT VERY LITTLE INFORMATION.
ABOUT HOW THAT MONEY WAS
ACTUALLY SPENT, AND I THINK IT'S
IN THE MATERIALS THAT WAS
PROVIDED PROVIDED BUT WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT NOW HUNDREDS OF
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. AND YET FOR
US THAT THAT WANTS TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT'S WORKING AND WHAT'S NOT,
AND WHERE'S THE MONEY GOING? IT
SEEMS LIKE SOME DATA IS PROVIDED
, BUT REALLY NOT ENOUGH FOR ANY
OF US TO MAKE AN EXAMINATION.
CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT? SURE
YEAH, HAPPY TO. SO AS I THINK
YOU WILL RECALL THE PHILOSOPHY
THAT WE HAVE HAD WITH THE
ALLOCATIONS OF THE MONEY IS THE
CAMPUSES OF DEVELOPED PLANS. ALL
OF OUR UNIVERSITIES HAVE PLANS
ABOUT HOW THEY'RE GOING TO MEET
THE GOALS ESTABLISHED AND THEY
HAVE, YOU KNOW THE FREE REIN TO
LEVERAGE THEIR FUNDS TO HIRE
FACULTY TO OPEN UP NEW COURSE
SECTIONS. TO HIRE ADDITIONAL
ADVISERS AS NEEDED, BASED ON
THEIR CIRCUMSTANCE. WHAT WE DO
AT THE SYSTEM OFFICES, WE WORK
WITH THEM CONTINUALLY ON THOSE
PLANS AND MAKE SURE THAT THAT
WE'RE SUPPORTING THEIR EFFORTS
AND THAT THE INVESTMENTS THAT
THEY'RE MAKING ARE IN LINE WITH
THE GOALS THAT THEY'VE SAID BUT
THEN WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
BREAKDOWN BY CAMPUS OFF IN TERMS
OF THE MONEY THEY'VE RECEIVED
AND THE RESULTS THAT HAVE BEEN
ACHIEVED. THERE'S SOME THERE'S
SOME STARK DIFFERENCES AREN'T
THERE THERE ARE AND I'LL TELL
YOU THAT IT'S A IT'S A
CONVERSATION WE HAVE EVERY YEAR
IN TERMS OF HOW WE ALLOCATE THE
FUNDS MOST EQUITABLY TO OUR
CAMPUSES, AND WHAT YOU'LL NOTICE
IS THE CAMPUSES THAT ARE AT THE
TOP OF THE LIST IN TERMS OF THE
ONES THAT HAVE GOTTEN RECEIVED.
THE MOST FUNDS ARE THE ONES
TYPICALLY WITH THE HIGHEST
PERCENTAGES OF UNDERSERVED
STUDENTS. AND SO WE ARE NOT
ACROSS THE BOARD, GIVING
CAMPUSES AND EQUAL ALLOCATION
BASED ON UH EITHER ENROLLMENTS
OR OR SIZE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT
. WE'RE LOOKING AT THE CAMPUSES
THAT HAVE THE LARGEST IMPACT ON
CLOSING EQUITY GAPS, AND WE'RE
ASKING THEM FOR PLANS THAT THEY
HAVE IN PLACE OR THAT THEY WILL
HAVE IN PLACE TO REDOUBLE THEIR
EFFORTS, AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE
PLACING. THAT'S ESPECIALLY IN
RECENT YEARS. HAPPY TO TALK A
LITTLE BIT SHORTLY ABOUT OUR
EQUITY PRIORITIES, BUT WE LOOKED
AT THOSE AREAS WHERE WE BELIEVE
THOSE ALLOCATIONS CAN HAVE THAT
BIG DATA TELL US THAT THOSE
ALLOCATIONS CAN HAVE THE BIGGEST
IMPACT ON HELPING THE MOST
STUDENTS OF COLOR FIRST
GENERATION STUDENTS AND THOSE
WHO ARE THE AND THOSE FROM
LOSSES. SOCIOECONOMIC HEALTH
STUDENTS IMPROVE THEIR
GRADUATION RATES. SO I AND I
APPRECIATE THAT APPROACH, AND IN
FACT THAT'S SIMILAR TO WHAT
WE'VE DONE ON THE STATE LEVEL
WITH LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING
FORMULA. BUT AT SOME POINT YOU
HAVE TO LOOK AT RESULTS AND WHO
IS PRODUCING RESULTS AND WHETHER
OR NOT BUT THAT FUNDING SHOULD
GO TO CAMPUSES THAT HAVE A
PROVEN RECORD OF ACTUALLY
ACHIEVING SOMETHING VERSUS THEY
HAVE A PROBLEM AND THEY STILL
HAVE A PROBLEM AND WE'VE GIVEN
THEM MILLIONS. AND THAT HASN'T
CHANGED THINGS. AT SOME POINT
THERE NEEDS TO BE ACCOUNTABILITY
FOR YOU KNOW? WHY NEW MONEY IS
JUSTIFIED GOING IN THOSE SPACES
, AND I KNOW THIS IS A CHALLENGE
ON THE SYSTEM WIDE BASIS. YOU
GUYS AREN'T THE CAMPUSES WE'RE
GOING TO HEAR FROM A COUPLE OF
THEM. BUT IT DOES LEAVE US
FRUSTRATED THAT THAT UM THERE'S
SO MANY CAMPUSES WHERE THERE'S
BEEN NO MOVEMENT NOW AND FOR
YEARS IN THE EQUITY GAP SPACE.
AND, UH, SEEMINGLY AN
ENTRENCHMENT OF NOT EVEN TRYING
THINGS NEW HAVE YOU? ONE OF THE
FINAL QUESTION. I'M GOING TO
ASK, AND I'LL GO TO MY
COLLEAGUES FOR ANY PROBLEM.
THEY'D LIKE TO ASK THAT. IN THE
MATERIALS THAT WERE PROVIDED FOR
THE HEARING. ONE OF THEM TALKS
ABOUT ONE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT
YOU ARE IMPLEMENTING ON YOUR
CAMPUS. WE CALL IT THE
CALIFORNIA PROMISE PROGRAM. AND
THAT'S A PROGRAM THAT IF STUDENT
COMMITS TO TAKING THE UNIT LOAD
REQUIRED TO GRADUATE IN FOUR
YEARS THAT THEY WOULD PROVIDE
THEY'D BE PROVIDED WITH PRIORITY
REGISTRATION AND ACADEMIC
ADVISING, AMONG OTHER THINGS,
THAT IT WOULD BE FOCUSED ON THE
UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITY THAT
WE KNOW IS SO DIFFICULT AND
IMPORTANT TO US. AND THAT CHART
THAT'S PROVIDED TALKS ABOUT HOW
EASY IT IS TO SEE ABOUT THIS
FOUR YEAR TRACK ON ALL OF OUR
CAMPUSES. HOW IS IT FOR A
STUDENT WHO GOES AND SAYS I DO I
EVEN KNOW ABOUT THIS PROGRAM.
AND HOW DO I ACCESS IT? AND YOU
SEE ON THAT CHART THE INCREDIBLE
DIVERGENCE OF EVEN THE JUST THE
GENERAL VIEW OF THE FOUR YEAR
TRACK. THERE WAS SOME CAMPUSES
LIKE LONG BEACH, AND WE'RE GONNA
HEAR FROM THEM AND THEY DID.
THEY DESERVE ACCLAIM FOR THIS
ONLY TAKES TWO CLICKS ON THEIR
WEBSITE TO FIND THAT CALIFORNIA
PROMISE PROGRAM. AND THEY HAPPEN
TO HAVE THE HIGHEST ENROLLMENT.
IN THE PROMISE PROGRAM OF ALMOST
ANY OTHER CAMPUS TWO CLICKS, AND
THEN YOU GO TO SOME OTHER
CAMPUSES THAT ARE STRUGGLING,
AND IN SOME CASES, YOU CAN'T
EVEN FIND IT. AND IN SOME CASES,
IT TAKES SIX CLICKS ON THE
WEBSITE TO ACTUALLY FIND IT. AND
THERE'S SOME OF THE WORST
PERFORMING CAMPUSES. STUDENTS
AREN'T EVEN MADE AWARE, I'LL
TELL YOU, I VISITED SAN JOSE
STATE A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO.
AND I DID THAT, BECAUSE THEY
THEY'VE HAD ALMOST A TRIPLING OF
THEIR FOUR YEAR GRADUATION RATE.
AND IT WAS TO SAY THANK YOU TO
THE LEADERSHIP ON THE CAMPUS.
AND I MET WITH THE STUDENT
GOVERNMENT LEADERS RIGHT
AFTERWARDS. AND IT WAS ABOUT 15
TO 20 STUDENT GOVERNMENT LEADERS
AROUND THE TABLE, ONE OF WHOM
HAD COME TO THE CEREMONY THAT I
WE HAD PRESENTED A RESOLUTION IN
THE REST. AND I ASKED THE
STUDENT LEADERS AT SAN JOSE
STATE. HOW MANY OF YOU ARE AWARE
OF THIS FOUR YEAR TRACK THIS
CALIFORNIA PROMISE PROGRAM TO
GET THROUGH IN SAN JOSE AND FOUR
YEARS GUARANTEED. AND ONLY ONE
STUDENT RAISED HIS HAND AND HE
WAS THE ONE WHO CAME TO THE
CEREMONY EARLIER THAT MORNING.
AND I'VE GONE TO OTHER CAMPUSES
AND ASKED THAT SAME QUESTION.
ARE YOU EVEN AWARE OF THIS FOUR
YEAR TRACK? AND IT ALMOST EVERY
CASE BLANK FACES. NO HAD NO NO
IDEA. AND SO THIS CHART THAT
IDENTIFIES EVEN THE AWARENESS
LEVEL OF THAT PATH IS VERY, VERY
STARK AND IMPACTFUL TO ME. AND I
THINK IT IS AN INDICATION THAT
WE'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH REALLY?
THIS PROGRAM IS FOCUSED ON 100
REPRESENTED AND THEN STUDENTS
HAVE NO IDEA EVEN EXISTS. YOU
THINK YOU WANT TO SAY ABOUT
THAT? SO UM, WE'VE BEEN DOING
THESE HEARINGS FOR A WHILE. AND
SO I'VE HEARD AND I APPRECIATE
IT, AND I THINK WE SHARE THE
SAME GOAL. WHICH IS THE PUBLIC
AWARENESS OF THIS, I WOULD JUST
MAYBE ADD THAT AND I KNOW WE
HAVE A STUDENT LEADER. UM CAN
YOU JOIN US IN MY CONVERSATIONS
? I'M A GUY WHO BUILDS DATA WEB
BUILDS DATA WEBSITES, AS YOU
KNOW, AND INFORMATIONAL WEBSITES
, NOT FOR STUDENTS. MOST OF OUR
STUDENTS ARE NOT ACCESSING THE
CAMPUS WEBSITES FOR INFORMATION.
THEY'RE GETTING ANOTHER HUESO.
TO THE TO THE POINT ABOUT
INFORMATION. I'D BE INTERESTED
IN THEIR VISIT AT SAN JOSE
STATE. HOW MANY OF THOSE
STUDENTS WERE NOT FIRST OR
SECOND YEAR STUDENTS, BUT WE'RE
BECAUSE THE REASON I ASK IS
BECAUSE NEWER STUDENTS SEE FIRST
THING IN CAL STATE APPLY WHEN
THEY APPLY TO THE CSU MENTION
THAT COMES UP AS A BIG POP UP
WINDOW ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA
PROMISE PROGRAM, AND SO THEY'RE
LIKELY STUDENTS WHO ARE NEWER,
MORE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO BE
AWARE MINISTER WHO MIGHT GO TO
THE WEBSITE AND LOOK FOR IT.
THAT'S NOT YOUR POINT. YOUR
POINT IS ONE THAT WE BOTH AGREE
ON THAT THE CSU AND YOU SHARE
WHICH IS I THINK TOGETHER WE CAN
LOOK FOR BETTER WAYS TO UH,
PARTNER WITH OUR STUDENTS TO
MAKE SURE THAT MORE OF THEM ARE
AWARE WE GO TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR
QUESTIONS TO YOUR NEWMAN. THANK
YOU. CHAIR GLASER. JUST I GUESS
I GUESS TO FRAME THIS AND
APPRECIATE YOUR TESTIMONY. SO
FAR, I'D ASK AS KIND OF A
VISION. LIKE WHAT? WHAT IN YOUR
FUSE IS A SYSTEMS MOST DIFFICULT
CURRENT CHALLENGE WHEN IT COMES
TO INCREASING GRADUATION RATES
IN CLOSING EQUITY GAPS. I THINK
FOR ALL THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN
DONE THAT CONTINUING ALIGNMENT
AROUND CULTURE. IS THE REMAINING
WORK RIGHT THERE IS THERE IS
GOOD WORK EXCELLENT WORK THAT
HAS BEEN DONE TO PUT DATA IN THE
HANDS OF FACULTY AND
ADMINISTRATORS. BUT THERE'S MORE
THAT WE CAN DO THERE. BUT IT'S
THAT SYNERGISTIC CULTURE WORK.
THAT IS THE NEXT ITERATION OF
THE WORK. I THINK AND I DO
APPRECIATE THAT. AND SO, UM, YOU
MENTIONED MISS BRAZIL, COVID.
AND OBVIOUSLY THAT WAS NOT
ANTICIPATED BY ANYBODY, BUT
ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE
2025 INITIATIVE. SO IN WHAT WAYS
HAS COVID INFLUENCE PROGRESS OR
SHOULD TRAJECTORY OF THE
INITIATIVE WELL, I THINK IT
HASN'T WELL. THERE ARE TWO WAYS
TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, RIGHT?
THERE ARE WAYS IN WHICH WE
UNDERSTAND DISPROPORTIONATE
IMPACTS. UM ON COMMUNITIES AND
ON STUDENTS. AH WORK. FAMILY
DEMANDS. UM ALL KINDS OF OTHER
CHALLENGES THAT THAT FORCED SOME
STUDENTS TO STOP OUT. UM BUT WE
ALSO LEARNED THAT INSTITUTIONS
HAD A TREMENDOUS CAPACITY FOR
INNOVATION IN THE TIME AS WELL.
AND SO PART OF THE CHALLENGE IS
HOW DO WE BALANCE THOSE CHANGING
NEEDS? WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT
MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL BEING. WE
TALK ABOUT BASIC NEEDS. UM WE
EVEN TALK ABOUT SENSE OF
BELONGING AS THINGS THAT ARE
ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT POST
PANDEMIC. UM BUT I THINK THAT
THERE ARE REALLY TWO SIDES OF
THIS THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO
LEARN FROM AND IN THIS NEXT
ITERATION, REALLY TRY AND
UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN TAKE THAT.
TAKE THE SPEED AND THE VELOCITY
AND THE URGENCY OF THE WORK AND
CONTINUE TO APPLY IT WELL BEYOND
EXCUSE ME WELL BEYOND 2025. I
APPRECIATE THAT AND ONE OF THE
FACTORS THAT I THINK CLEARLY
MOST INFLUENCES STUDENT
EXPERIENCES STUDENTS BECAUSE HIS
HOUSING AND MY USING MY OWN CAL
STATE SCHOOL CALCULATE FOR IN MY
DISTRICT LARGEST SCHOOL SYSTEM,
UM, RELATIVELY LOW SHARE OF
STUDENTS ACTUALLY HAVE ACCESS TO
CAMPUS HOUSING, AFFORDABLE
HOUSING. AND CLEARLY THAT HAS A
BIG IMPACT. HOUSING IS
EXPENSIVE, RIGHT? SO YOU TALKED
ABOUT MAXIMIZE THE RETURN AND
UNDER INVESTMENTS HAVE YOUR DOES
YOUR DATA CORRELATE? DOES IT
SHOW UM, THE CORRELATION BETWEEN
HOUSING AND STUDENTS ACCESS TO
IT, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, SUCCESS
OR LACK OF SUCCESS SO FAR AROUND
THE INITIATIVE. SURE SO, YOU
KNOW, SIMILAR TO NATIONALS DATA
ARE STUDENTS WHO? I'M SORRY. OF
COURSE. OH MY APOLOGIES. BETTER
YEAH. UH CERTAINLY. STUDENTS WHO
LIVE ON CAMPUS TYPICALLY ARE
ENROLLED FULL TIME. AND HAVING
MORE EXPEDITIOUS PATH TO
GRADUATION. SO THAT'S TRUE FOR
OUR CAMPUSES AS IT IS TRUE
NATIONALLY. ABSOLUTELY. RIGHT
BUT THAT'S NOT TRUE ACROSS ALL
CAMPUSES, RIGHT SO ANY CLEARLY
WE COULD QUANTIFY. UH YOU KNOW,
SORT OF THE NEED ON PARTICULAR
CAMPUSES. AND ALSO, I THINK THE
RETURN UM AND I THINK IT'S
IMPORTANT FOR THE LEGISLATURE'S.
WE CONSIDER THIS BECAUSE IF YOU
THINK ABOUT THE THREE TIERS OF
SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY COLLEGES SOON
TO BE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, èC
GENERALLY RESIDENTIAL IMMERSIVE.
STATE SYSTEM RIGHT NOW IS STUCK
IN BETWEEN. AND IT'S MASSIVE,
BUT BUT CLEARLY YOUR PROSPECTS
FOR A GOOD EXPERIENCE AND FOR A
TIMELY GRADUATION ARE
EXPONENTIALLY INCREASING THE
ACCESS TO HOUSING. SO YOU KNOW,
IT'D BE GOOD TO HAVE DATA TO
FIGURE OUT NOT ONLY WHAT THAT
MEANS, BUT ALSO THE MOST COST
EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES. FOR
ADDRESSING THEM. IT'S TO
APPRECIATE THAT. I GUESS MY LAST
QUESTION I'LL YIELD TO MY
COLLEAGUE. UM IN THAT VEIN. WHAT
RESOURCES DO YOU LEAVE ARE
NEEDED TO EITHER SUPPORT A
SUPPLEMENT THE CSU'S CURRENT
EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS.
ALONG THE GOALS. THE INITIATIVE.
YEAH. I MEAN, I THINK, UM JUST
PIGGYBACKING ON WHAT DR BRAZIL
SAID. YOU KNOW, CULTURE CHANGE,
AND SENATOR GLASER SAID IT AS
WELL. WE ALL KNOW IS I MEAN,
THAT'S THAT'S THE NAME OF THE
GAME HERE. AND SO I THINK. WHAT
WE'RE LOOKING AT, AS WE LOOK
TOWARDS THE FUTURE IS HOW DO WE
TAKE THE MESSAGE AND ACCELERATE
IT? HOW DO WE TAKE? HOW DO WE
MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INFUSING
THE IDEA THAT NO MATTER WHERE I
SIT ON CAMPUS, NO MATTER WHAT MY
JOB IS I UNDERSTAND WHAT MY ROLE
IS IN PROMOTING STUDENT SUCCESS
. AND I THINK THAT TAKES, UM SO
THAT'S AT THE FUNDAMENTAL LEVEL
IN TERMS OF SUPPORTING THAT
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT,
SUPPORTING RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE
TO DO THAT THERE'S ALSO YOU
KNOW, SENATOR LASER MENTIONED IN
THE BEGINNING ON SOME OF OUR
CAMPUSES, IT IS STILL A
CHALLENGE TO GET THE COURSES
THAT STUDENTS NEED RIGHT. AND SO
WE DO NEED TO HIRE MORE FACULTY.
WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE
COURSE SECTIONS AVAILABLE TO
STUDENTS WHEN THEY NEED THEM.
AND THE LAST THING I THINK YOU
MENTIONED AS WELL IS ADVISING.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR STUDENT TO
ADVISOR RATIO AND YOU LOOK AT IT
NATIONALLY ARE WORKLOADS ARE FAR
GREATER, AND THEY HAVE GOTTEN
WORSE WITH THE PANDEMIC THAT IS
ONE OF THE AREAS ON CAMPUS THAT
HAS SEEN THE MOST ATTRITION AND
I KNOW PART OF THE CALIFORNIA
PROMISE IS THIS ENHANCED
ADVISEMENT. WE KNOW, STUDY AFTER
STUDY TELLS US HOW IMPORTANT
ADVISEMENT IS QUALITY ADVISEMENT
AND ESPECIALLY FOR OUR STUDENTS
FROM THE MOST UNDERSERVED
BACKGROUNDS AND SO OFF THE TOP
OF MY HEAD. THOSE ARE FOUR AREAS
WHERE I THINK WE COULD REALLY
BENEFIT FROM AS A SYSTEM FROM
INCREASED, SUSTAINED INVESTMENT
. I DO APPRECIATE I WOULD AGREE.
I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU, MR
SENATOR LARRIN. THANK YOU VERY
MUCH. AND SENATOR SMALLWOOD
QUIVER SERVED A NUMBER OF
QUESTIONS. I DON'T ASK TWO OR
THREE OF THEM AND WANT THEM WITH
THINGS I WAS GOING TO ASK, BUT I
ASSUME THAT IF I DON'T GET TO
EVERYONE OF HERS, YOU WILL WORK
WITH HER TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT
SHE GETS ANSWERS TO EACH AND THE
FIRST ONE. IS SHE ASKED THAT IN
THE BACKUP INFORMATION. THERE
WAS SORT OF NON UNDERREPRESENTED
STUDENTS LISTED OR PERCENTAGES,
BUT THERE WAS NOT A LISTING BY
ETHNICITY TO TELL IF THERE WAS A
DISPROPORTIONATE FALLING AWAY IN
IN THE YEARS AND I HEARD YOU SAY
A DASHBOARD, BUT IS THERE SOME
PLACE THAT YOU CAN GO TO GET
THAT INFORMATION? YES THERE IS.
AND WE CAN SEND YOU THAT LINK
WILL MAKE SURE YOU GET THAT. BUT
LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE
LEARNED FROM IT BECAUSE I
REPRESENT ONE OF THE YEAH, I
ALWAYS HAVE 2.5 C SUS BECAUSE
ALL THESE PEOPLE COMMUTE TO SAN
JOSE STATE, EVEN THOUGH SINCE
SOMEBODY ELSE'S DISTRICT, BUT I
HAVE CSU, MONTEREY BAY AND CAL
POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO AND CAL
POLY SAN LUIS VISTAS SEEMS TO
KEEP SETTING THE RECORD FOR HOW
LOW THE NUMBER OF AFRICAN
AMERICAN STUDENTS OR I THINK
RIGHT NOW IT'S 7/10 OF 1% AND IN
EITHER THE ADMITTED CLASS OR THE
LAST GRADUATING CLASS. THERE
WERE 23 BLACK STUDENTS OUT OF
4400 STUDENTS. AND THAT SEEMS
DIRECTLY RELATED TO PEOPLE.
HAVING THE SUPPORT TO GET
THROUGH IN THE TIME. HOW DO YOU
ADDRESS THAT EQUITY GAP IN TERMS
OF THIS PROGRAM? HOW DOES THAT
HELP BRING RESOURCES TO TRY TO
ADDRESS THIS EQUITY? YEAH GREAT
QUESTION. THE GRADUATION
INITIATIVE IS LOOKING TOWARDS
THE END, RIGHT? IT'S LOOKING
TOWARDS GRADUATION AND WHAT YOUR
QUESTION IS ON IN TERMS OF
ACCESS. HAVE WE ENSURING
EQUITABLE ACCESS ACROSS THE CSU
AND EQUITABLE ACCESS AND THAT
THEY DON'T DROP OUT BOTH, YOU
KNOW, SO THAT THEY CAN GET TO
FOUR YEARS. YEAH AND I'LL JUST
SAY ON THAT ON THE ON THE ACCESS
SIDE, THOSE ARE CONVERSATIONS
THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE IF YOU
ARE ANYWHERE NEAR SAN LUIS
OBISPO, THAT IS THE YOU KNOW
YOU'RE HAVING THOSE
CONVERSATIONS EVERYDAY PAIR FOR
A SENATOR SMALLWOOD CUEVAS,
HAVING SAT IN A LOT OF HEARINGS,
SHE WOULD BASICALLY SAY AT WHAT
POINT ARE YOU GOING PAST
CONSERVE A CONVERSATIONS AND CAN
YOU MEASURE THE OUTCOME OF WHERE
YOU'RE REALLY GETTING FOR SURE,
AND I'D SAY LET'S START TO LOOK
AT THE ADMITTING CLASSES. THAT'S
WHERE YOU THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE
ONE OF HER. OTHER QUESTIONS
RELATED TO THE BACKGROUND
DOCUMENT TALKS ABOUT THREE YEARS
AGO OR FOUR YEARS AGO, THE
CAMPUS IS IMPLEMENTED. A VARIETY
OF SUPPORT SERVICES. HAVE YOU
MEASURED? WHERE THEY'VE
IMPLEMENTED SUPPORT SERVICES AND
IF THAT HAS RESULTED IN A CHANGE
IN TIME PEOPLE WERE TAKING. IT'S
A IT'S A GREAT QUESTION FROM THE
ANSWER FROM THE CAMPUS IS YES,
THE SYSTEM OFFICE NOW LET ME IF
I COULD TAKE A MINUTE, I'LL GIVE
YOU AN EXAMPLE OF THE APPROACH
THAT WE TAKE ON THIS OR ONE OF
THE APPROACHES THAT WE'RE
TAKING, AND MAYBE YOU'LL
UNDERSTAND THE NUANCE. HOPEFULLY
I CAN EXPLAIN THE NUANCE OF HOW
IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT FROM
A CAMPUS PERSPECTIVE. FROM WHERE
WE SIT WITH HUNDREDS OF PROGRAMS
ON EVERY CAMPUS IN 23 CAMPUSES.
THAT WOULD BE REALLY DIFFICULT
FOR US TO MEASURE THE IMPACT
YEAR OVER YEAR OF THOSE PROGRAMS
WHAT WE'VE STARTED TO DO INSTEAD
WE TALKED ABOUT THE DATA THAT WE
COLLECT ABOUT OUTCOMES IS WORK
BACKWARDS. AND BY THAT, I MEAN
RECENTLY. WE ARE IN THE PROCESS
OF PILOTING AND SETTING UP A
PROTOTYPE. EQUITABLE PRACTICES,
DASHBOARD OR DATABASE. AND THE
IDEA IS WE'VE TAKEN ALL THE DATA
ABOUT STUDENT OUTCOMES AND
DISAGGREGATED BY RACE, GENDER
AND ETHNICITY AND, FOR EXAMPLE,
ASKED OURSELVES WHICH COLLEGES
ON OUR 23 CAMPUSES ARE DOING THE
BEST JOBS OF GRAPHIC OF
GRADUATING AFRICAN AMERICAN
STUDENTS. AND NOT JUST WHICH OF
THEM ARE DOING THAT GREAT JOB
TODAY, BUT WHICH OF THEM HAVE A
STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT TREND
OVER A FEW YEARS? SOMETIMES WE
GET LOST IN ONE YEAR OR TWO
YEARS OF DATA. THE QUESTION IS
NOT WHO HAS DONE IT ONCE AND
THEN YOU KNOW, THINGS KIND OF
FELL OFF THE WAYSIDE. BUT WHO'S
DONE THIS IN A SUSTAINED WAY?
AND WE HAVE LOOKED AT 6 700
DIFFERENT PERMUTATIONS AND
IDENTIFIED NINE WHERE THAT'S THE
CASE. AND SO THE DATA ARE PRETTY
STRONG. WE SET UP A LOT OF
PARAMETERS TO SAY WE THINK
SOMETHING PRETTY SPECIAL IS
GOING ON HERE. THE NEXT STEP IS
FOR US TO WORK WITH PARTNER WITH
QUALITATIVE RESEARCHES ACROSS
THE CSU TO START ASKING
QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW AND TO GET
TO THE REPLICA ABILITY IN THE
SCALABILITY OF THOSE PRACTICES,
SO OUR GOAL OVER THE NEXT FEW
MONTHS IS TO HAVE A SPECIFIC
ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION TO SAY,
FOR EXAMPLE, WHO IS DOING THE
BEST JOB OF GRADUATING, UH,
LATIN X STUDENTS ACROSS THE CSU.
WELL, WE CAN LOOK AT THE COLLEGE
OF YOU KNOW, THIS COLLEGE OF
THIS COLLEGE SOUNDS AN AWFUL LOT
LIKE WAITING FOR THE PEER REVIEW
IN A SCIENCE STUDY, WHICH MAKES
IT GO ON FOREVER WHEN YOU'RE
SITTING THERE IN THE MOMENT,
TRYING TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES,
AND IF ANECDOTALLY YOU HAVE
STARTED TO IDENTIFY THINGS YOU
CAN SHARE THOSE IN A WAY THAT
PEOPLE GET WHAT YOU'RE DOING
BEFORE YOU DO THE FORMAL
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH WE CAN.
I'LL TELL YOU WHERE I HESITATE.
AND I'M I SHARE YOUR IMPATIENCE.
I'M VERY IMPATIENT GUY. AND
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT EXTENDED
PERIOD VIEW. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT
A MONTH TO TWO MONTHS OF
VALIDATION. AND LET ME TELL YOU
WHAT MAKES ME NERVOUS. WHAT
WOULD MAKE ME NERVOUS? FOR
EXAMPLE, AS IF IN THE DATA WE
ARE FINDING THINGS THAT WE CAN'T
PICK UP THROUGH QUANTITATIVE
ANALYSIS, FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S SAY
A CAMPUS DECIDED TO BE
INCREDIBLY SELECTIVE WITH WHO
THEY WERE ADMITTING AND THE CORE
REASON THE ROOT CAUSE OF THEIR
IMPRESSIVE RESULTS. WAS NOT DUE
TO SOME CULTURE CHANGE THAT WE
WANT TO SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE
SYSTEM AND HELP TO SCALE BUT
RATHER TOWARDS SOME PRACTICES
THAT WE DON'T WANT TO SCALE AND
SO AT THE RISK OF. PRUDENT TO
SPEND THE EXTRA COUPLE OF MONTHS
TO UNDERSTAND THAT SECRET SAUCE
SO THAT JUST FOR THE RECORD
BECAUSE I'M GOING TO START TO
GET SHORTED ON TIME, JUST I
GATHER YOU FEEL OR IN PATIENTS,
AND YOU CAN TRY TO CHANNEL IT
INTO THAT PROCESS. ABSOLUTELY
ANOTHER QUESTION FROM SENATOR
CUEVAS WAS WHETHER OR NOT YOU'D
IDENTIFIED COURSES THAT HAVE
EQUITY GAPS, BECAUSE IF YOU HAVE
COURSES THAT HAVE EQUITY GAPS
THAT IS SCREENING PEOPLE OUT
FROM BEING ABLE TO MOVE IN A
TIMELY FASHION HAS THAT KIND OF
WORK BEEN DONE? IT'S BEEN
HAPPENING FOR YEARS, AND IT'S
GOTTEN A LOT MORE INTENTIONAL
AROUND GAPS, IN FACT, QUICKLY
BECAUSE I KNOW WE'RE PRESSED FOR
TIME. WE'VE DONE SOME RESEARCH
IN THE SYSTEM OFFICE THAT FOUND
THAT STUDENTS OF COLOR IN
PARTICULAR WERE 3.5 TIMES LESS
LIKELY TO GRADUATE IF THEY
EXPERIENCED MULTIPLE, NON
PASSING GRADES IN THEIR FIRST
YEAR, SO THAT'S COMPARED TO
THEIR PEERS. SO THIS IS AN
EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THOSE
DIFFERENTIAL IMPACTS WHERE WE
ARE PLACING A LOT OF ENERGY. WE
HAVE A GROUP OF FOLKS IN THE
CHANCELLOR'S OFFICE. BETTER HAVE
CONVENED THE CAMPUSES TOGETHER.
ALL OF OUR CAMPUSES HAVE
IDENTIFIED THOSE CAUSES AT THE
1ST AND 2ND YEAR LEVEL, SO THOSE
HIGH ENROLLMENT CLASSES WITH THE
LARGEST EQUITY GAPS AND WE'VE
INVESTED SOME OF THAT MONEY THAT
WE TALKED ABOUT. WHAT WOULD YOU
DO WITH EXTRA MONEY? THE MONEY
THAT WE HAVE INVESTED THIS LAST
YEAR AS PART OF THE GRADUATION
INITIATIVE, A LARGE PART OF IT
WENT TO HELPING THOSE CAMPUSES
REDESIGNED THOSE CAMPS. THOSE
COURSES WORK WITH FACULTY TO FIX
THE GROUP AND THEN GET MY ONE
PERSONAL QUESTION. ONE OF THE
INTERESTING EXCHANGES I HAD WITH
SENATOR GLASER OVER THE LAST
THREE YEARS, I WOULD GET
QUESTIONS FROM HIM OUT OF OUR
CONVERSATIONS. I WOULD ASK, AND
ONE YEAR I ASKED IF YOU HAD
ENOUGH RESOURCES. FULLY
IMPLEMENT THIS PROGRAM BETWEEN
NOW AND 2025 FOR IMPACT AND THE
ANSWER FROM THE CSU
REPRESENTATIVE WAS YES. AND
LET'S JUST SAY SENATOR GLASS. IT
WAS NOT SATISFIED WITH THAT
ANSWER WHEN I REFLECTED IT TO
HIM, AND SO GIVEN THE DISCUSSION
WE'VE HAD THUS FAR AND WE'RE
GOING TO HAVE MY ARE THERE
CERTAIN PLACES THAT YOU DON'T
THINK THAT YOU HAVE RESOURCES TO
BE ABLE TO DO WHAT YOU NEED TO
DO TO SORT OF CLOSED GAPS AND
MAKE SURE YOU HIT YOUR GOALS ON
THE FOUR YEAR GRADUATION.
ABSOLUTELY SO, YEAH. YES
ABSOLUTELY. I THINK ONE OF THE
STRUGGLES YOU WILL HEAR FROM US
IS NOT THE ABILITY YOU KNOW, IN
TODAY'S ENVIRONMENT WITH OUR
FUNDING, IT'S NOT THE ABILITY TO
DREAM BIG. UM YOU KNOW WHAT?
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE IN TERMS OF
THE BUDGET NEEDED, BUT RATHER
HOW DO YOU LEVERAGE THE DOLLARS?
YOU HAVE TO GET THE BEST IMPACT
. AND SO IF YOU'RE ASKING US TO
DREAM BIG ABOUT THAT NUMBER, I
WOULD LOVE IT AND I WOULD TAKE
IT BACK TO MY COLLEAGUES AND,
YOU KNOW, NOT RELY ON ME. UM BUT
YES, THERE ARE. I MEAN, WE ARE
WE ARE LEVERAGING SCARCE
RESOURCES AND GOING BACK TO THE
HOUSING. SOME OF THE
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOUSING IS
HOW I'M GOING TO TAKE THAT AS
YOUR ANSWER ON TIME. AND JUST
AND JUST YEAH, THERE'S SO MUCH I
COULD SAY TO SENATOR NEWMAN, BUT
THE ONE CLOSING COMMENT ON THAT
IS THAT IF I HAD MADE EXTENDED
OPENING COMMENTS, I WOULD HAVE
SAID AT OUR THREE LEVELS OF
HIGHER EDUCATION. THE PLACE THAT
WE HAVE THE BIGGEST RESOURCES
PROBLEM IS IN THE CSU SYSTEM.
AND YOU HAVE LABOR CONTRACTS
COME UP THAT YOU CAN'T MEET.
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT TUITION.
IT'S BEEN ADOPTED A DIFFERENT
WAY, APPARENTLY THAN YOU SEE
THERE'S WHOLE ISSUES AND IF
WE'RE REALLY UH, GOING TO LOOK
AT THE SYSTEM. OVERALL, WE HAVE
TO MAKE A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT
. BUT I THINK THAT THAT WE NEED
TO KNOW THAT THAT THERE'S
PROGRESS ON THIS TO WARRANT
SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENTS. SO
THANK YOU FOR MR CHAIR FOR
ALLOWING ME TO GO ON. THANK YOU,
SENATOR LAIRD AND SENATOR
SMALLWOOD CUVEE US AND AS HER
REPRESENTATIVE FOR SHARING THOSE
QUESTIONS, AND I GUESS FOR THE
YOU KNOW, WE NEVER REALLY HAVE
CONVERSATIONS IN THESE HERE. AND
SO I WANT TO LEAST NOW HAVE A
CONVERSATION IN RESPONSE TO WHAT
SENATOR LARRY HAS SAID, WHICH IS
THAT THAT IS A POINT THAT I
WOULD PRESS SENATOR LAIRD ON IS
OUR BUDGET, SHARE AND EDUCATION.
BUT I'LL TELL YOU SOMETHING THAT
MY VIEW IS CHANGING. BECAUSE MY
VIEW THOSE OVER THOSE COURSE OF
THOSE YEARS WERE GIVE THEM THE
25 MILLION. GIVE THEM THE 75
MILLION. OUR GOALS ARE THE SAME
. LET THEM DO IT. JUST GIVEN THE
MONEY. AND MY FEELINGS TODAY ARE
WELL HOLD ON A SECOND. UM, WE
HAVE GIVEN YOU A LOT OF MONEY.
AND THERE'S BEEN SOME REALLY
SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS THAT DON'T
MISUNDERSTAND THIS POINT, BUT
THE EQUITY GAP IS STILL THERE.
IT'S STUBBORNLY THERE AND EVEN
HIGHER. AND SO I STARTED TO SAY
TO MYSELF NOW, SENATOR LAIRD
THAT WE? WE NEED MORE SPECIFICS
TO KNOW THAT THE MONEY IS GOING
TO GO TO A PLACE THAT MAKES A
DIFFERENCE. AND IF YOU LOOK IN
YOUR IN THE K THROUGH 12 SPACE,
YOU KNOW THE LOCAL PLANNING FORM
THAT WE PUT IN MASSIVE AMOUNTS
OF MONEY THERE. AND WE SEE SOME
VERY STUBBORN GAPS STILL AND
THEN THE GOVERNOR THIS PAST YEAR
AND THE YEAR BEFORE, AND YOU
KNOW THIS BECAUSE YOU HAD A
FRONT ROW SEAT. WE DID
SUPPLEMENTAL MONEY. TO HELP WITH
THE PROBLEM AS WE SAW IT. AND
THE GAPS ARE STILL THERE. BUT IT
GOES BACK TO YOU KNOW THE BLANK
CHECK IS HELPFUL ON SO MANY
OTHER THINGS, BUT YET WE'RE NOT
SEEING IT. WE'RE NOT SEEING IT,
AND THAT'S THE POINT OF
FRUSTRATION. SENATOR CORTEZ.
JUST THANK YOU VERY MUCH, UM
THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING.
AND UM AND YES, WE ARE VERY
PROUD OF SOUNDS, THE STATE
UNIVERSITY AND THE WORK THAT
THEY'VE DONE THE WORK THEY'VE
DONE WITH THE PROMISE PROGRAM.
UM AND SOME OTHER SOME OTHER
AREAS. I WAS IN A LOT OF NEWS
CONFERENCES GOING BACK A COUPLE
OF DECADES WITH LA RAZA WITH THE
LATINO COMMUNITY. UM, REALLY,
JUST CHALLENGING THE SYSTEM FOR,
UM, ON EQUITY ISSUES. UM, YOU
KNOW, RIGHT AT THE FRONT END AND
ENROLLMENT IN TERMS OF STUDENT
RETENTION SO FORTH, JUST WANT TO
PICK UP ON A VERY SPECIFIC THING
THAT YOU SAID, AND I JUST LIKE
TO HEAR MORE ABOUT IT IN TERMS
OF THE ISSUE ABOUT IT'S NOT.
IT'S NOT JUST A ROMAN IS KEEPING
THEM FROM DROPPING OUT IN THE
STATISTICS DATA YOU TALKED ABOUT
WITH MULTIPLE FAILURE GRADES,
YOU KNOW, CONTRIBUTING TO THAT?
AND IT REMINDS ME OF BEING AN
EXTREMELY LARGE HIGH SCHOOL
DISTRICT DOWN THERE IN SAN JOSE
SAN ABOARD YEARS AGO. UM WHERE
WE THOUGHT WE HAD TO KEEP
REMAKING. YOU KNOW, OUR PROGRAMS
ARE CURRICULUM. UM. AND WE FELT
LIKE WHAT WE STARTED TO LEARN,
AND I THINK THE SCHOOL BOARD
MEMBERS NOW IN DISTRICTS HAVE
PICKED UP ON THIS AT THAT LEVEL,
YOU KNOW, THROUGH THROUGH 12TH
GRADE. THAT THE SOCIAL EMOTIONAL
IMPACT IS PERHAPS. ROOT CAUSE
OFTEN TIMES, UM YOU KNOW, WE
HAVE THINK OF THE SILICON VALLEY
PAIN INDEX IN THE DETERMINED
THAT ACROSS THE BOARD OF NO IF
IT'S EXACTLY ACCURATE, BUT ABOUT
11% OF CSU STUDENTS ARE RUNNING
ON HOUSED, BUT BY DEFINITION,
THEY DON'T HAVE A STABLE ROOF
OVER THEIR HEADS. 11% IN SAN
JOSE, IS AN EXAMPLE THAT THAT'S
TOUGH. YOU KNOW, AND IF YOU'RE
DISPROPORTIONATELY REPRESENTED
AMONGST THOSE NUMBERS AMONGST
FOSTER YOUTH AMONGST KIDS OF
COLOR. WELL OF COURSE IT TO ME.
I MEAN, I DON'T WANT TO SOUND
OVER SIMPLISTIC HERE. BUT OF
COURSE, IT'S GOING TO SHOW UP
AND FAILURE RATES AT SOME POINT
BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO TAKE A
FULL LOAD NEXT TO A KID THAT'S
GOT FAMILY SUPPORT AND RESOURCES
OR OR OR AN ADULT PERSON. UM
THAT'S GOT TO SHOW UP. IN A WAY,
AND SO MY QUESTION IS BESIDES
RETOOLING. YOUR YOUR APPROACH TO
THE CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE
CURRICULUM. I DON'T I DON'T KNOW
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO PARAPHRASE
WHAT YOU SAID. BUT WHAT ARE YOU
DOING IN TERMS OF YOU KNOW,
ELEVATING THE DISCUSSION AROUND.
YOU CAN'T AFFECT YOU KNOW YOU
GOTTA DEAL WITH TRAUMA GOT TO
DEAL WITH THINGS THAT ARE GOING
ON THE LIVES OF THESE STUDENTS
THAT I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH
THEIR CAPACITY, MAYBE NOT EVEN
THEIR WORK ETHIC TO DEAL WITH
THE SUBJECT MATTER. IT'S UM A
LOT OF LIFE GETTING IN THE WAY.
AND I JUST LIKE TO HEAR MORE
ABOUT THAT IF YOU ALREADY TALKED
ABOUT THAT BEFORE I WALKED IN 15
MINUTES LATE, AND POLICE JUST
SAY SO. AND I'LL GO BACK AND
WATCH THE TAPE. NO NO, NO, IT'S
A IT'S A GREAT QUESTION, AND
IT'S A I'M REALLY GLAD YOU
BROUGHT IT UP. SO UM, A COUPLE
OF THINGS AND THEIR DISCUSSIONS
THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING AND
ACTIONS WE'VE BEEN TAKING FOR
THE LAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS OF
SPENDING IN PARTICULAR BEFORE
THAT, OBVIOUSLY, BUT THEY'VE
BEEN HEIGHTENED BECAUSE OF THE
REALITIES OF THE WORLD OVER THE
LAST FEW YEARS. EVERY ONE OF OUR
CAMPUSES HAS FOOD BANKS. UM AND
OUR STUDENTS KNOW ABOUT THEM.
THEY'RE HEAVILY TRAFFICKED WHERE
YOU KNOW, WE'RE INCREDIBLY
SUPPORTIVE FROM THE SYSTEM
OFFICE IN TERMS OF SHARING BEST
PRACTICES IN THAT AREA. WE'RE
VERY PROUD THAT SOME OF OUR
CAMPUSES WERE AT THE FOREFRONT
OF THAT, UH, IN THE SAME THING
WITH MENTAL HEALTH YOU'LL HEAR
LATER TODAY. HOPE YOU ASK THE
SAME QUESTION FROM HER
COLLEAGUES AT LONG BEACH, STATE
AND SAC STATE BECAUSE IN TERMS
OF MENTAL HEALTH AND THE SUPPORT
TRANSITIONING FROM A WEB BASED
AND ONLINE BASED FORMULA BECAUSE
OF THE PANDEMIC, WHAT WE HAVE
NOW AND AGAIN, IT GOES BACK TO
TRIAGING IN MANY CASES, DOING
THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE
RESOURCES WE HAVE, BUT I THINK
WHAT YOU SAID, IS SO DARN
IMPORTANT THERE. THE THERE ARE
THE ISSUES THAT ARE REALLY
CLEARLY UNDER OUR CONTROL OR
DIRECT CONTROL, LIKE CAN WE
IMPROVE THE TEACHING AND
LEARNING PROCESS TO BE MORE
INCLUSIVE AND SUPPORT MORE OF
OUR STUDENTS, ESPECIALLY THOSE
FROM UNDERSERVED BACKGROUNDS?
AND THEN THEY'RE THE ONES THAT
OUR ENTIRE SOCIETY IS DEALING
WITH? NOT JUST THE UNIVERSITY.
CAN WE FEED PEOPLE CAN WE? CAN
WE MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE DON'T
COME TO SCHOOL? TAKE THE CLASS
HUNGRY? WE MAKE SURE THAT WE
TAKE CARE OF THEIR WHOLE BEING.
AND THESE ARE CHALLENGES THAT
WE'RE FACING AT THE UNIVERSITY
AND WE'RE FACING AS A AS A STATE
AND AS A NATION. AGAINST THE
INVITATION. UM BACK TO THE
FUNDING ISSUE IS, YOU KNOW TO
LET US KNOW WHERE THOSE AH!
WHERE WE CAN ADDRESS EQUITY. UM,
WITH YOU KNOW, FUNDING
AUGMENTATION. WHETHER IT'S
WHETHER IT'S EXITING SENIOR'S
COMING OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL THAT
ARE GOING TO ROLL AND GETTING
THEM SUPPORTED ENOUGH TO SPEED
OR DEALING WITH MENTAL HEALTH
ISSUES. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT
WE'RE HERE. TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT
HOW WE CAN APPLY RESOURCES TO
THESE SITUATIONS NOT TO NOT TO
JUDGE SO. THANK YOU. THAT
DOESN'T INVITATION. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, SENATOR CORTEZ EASE,
SENATOR OCHOA, BOB. THANK YOU.
GOOD AFTERNOON. SO I AM I JUST
WANT TO REALLY, UM. COMMITTED MY
COLLEAGUES ON THE REMARKS THAT
THEY EVOLVED MADE BECAUSE I
THINK MANY OF THEM I'VE MADE,
UM, BOTH IN BUDGET WITH SENATOR
LAIRD IN IN THE EDUCATION
COMMITTEE AS WELL SINCE I BEGAN
MY TENURE IN 2021 WITH MY
COLLEAGUES, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH
FOR BRINGING UP THE HOUSING
COMPONENT IN ISSUE ON HOW IT HAS
A MULTIPLIER EFFECT AS WELL AS
ACCOUNTABILITY BECAUSE WE HAVE
UM, STRATEGICALLY BEEN INVESTING
IN A LOT OF, UM, PROGRAMS
THROUGHOUT THIS SINCE 2013 WHEN
WE HAD THE LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING
FORMULA, UM UM UM, UM, CHANGED
AND, UM, AND ALLOCATING FUNDING
AND YET WE'RE NOT SEEING THE
IMPACT THAT WE SHOULD BE SEEING,
UM BUT I APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE
COMMENT THAT THAT THEY'VE MADE
AND I ECHO THEM. MY QUESTION IN
COMMON ACTUALLY HAS TO BE WITH,
UM, THE NAME OF THE PROGRAM AND
WHETHER OR NOT UM SO I RECEIVED
THIS FROM, UM, A FRIEND OF MINE
FROM C S. C S. U. S. B AND I'M
NOT SURE DID NOT CLARIFY THIS,
BUT I BELIEVE CORRECT ME IF I'M
MISTAKEN. BUT PERHAPS THE
LANGUAGE FROM THE CHANGE IN
LANGUAGE FROM CALIFORNIA
PROMISED TO FINISH IN FOUR HAVE
YOU FOCUSED? SEEN A DIFFERENCE
IS. HAVE WE SEEN A DIFFERENCE?
DO SOME OF OUR SCHOOLS DO THE
CALIFORNIA PROMISE TO YOU?
FINISHING FOR. IS THERE A
DIFFERENCE THERE? THERE IS NO
DIFFERENCE, BUT EACH CAMPUS SAYS
USED IT DIFFERENTLY. WE'RE GOING
TO HEAR FROM SEX STATE IN A FEW
MINUTES, AND THEY'VE USED TO
FINISHING FOR THINK FROM THE
BEGINNING. OTHER CAMPUSES HAVE
USED TO CALIFORNIA PROMISE.
THERE IS A PIECE OF LEGISLATION
THAT CHANGES THE NAME TO FINISH
AND FOR THROUGH AND TO, BUT IT'S
ALWAYS BEEN A OPTION. I THINK
FOR THE HOW THE SYSTEM WANTS TO
USE IT, BECAUSE THAT GIVES IT A
VERY CONCRETE. UM VISION OR
UNDERSTANDING FOR ANYBODY THAT'S
COMING IN NEW AND ISSUES THAT
THAT ACTUALLY, BUT IN MY OPINION
, I WOULD PROBABLY THINK THAT
THAT WOULD PROBABLY BE, UM, VERY
HELPFUL AS WELL AS ENSURING THAT
WE HAVE, UM THAT WE HAVE THE
FUNDING. OF COURSE. YOU KNOW, WE
CAN EXPECT THOSE PROGRESS. BUT
IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE FUNDING,
THEN THEN, UM AND HOW CAN YOU
IMPLEMENT THOSE PROGRAMS ARE
NEEDED TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES FOR
FROM OUR FIRST GENERATIONS ARE
LOW INCOME. UM BUT ALSO THE
ACCOUNTABILITY, ACCOUNTABILITY.
I THINK THIS YEAR UM, WE SAW FOR
THE FIRST TIME I SAW FOR THE
FIRST TIME. THESE PAST THREE
YEARS THAT IN THE BUDGET AND
BUDGET ONE, WE SAW COMPONENT
WHERE THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE WAS
ACTUALLY ASKING FOR AN
EVALUATION AFTER THREE YEARS ON
THE INVESTMENTS TO ENSURE THAT
WE WERE ACTUALLY USING THE MONEY
, UM IN ASSESSING WHETHER OR NOT
THE PROGRAM WAS EFFECTIVE IN THE
WAY THAT IT WAS INTENDED, SO I
WAS ACTUALLY REALLY HAPPY TO SEE
THAT THIS YEAR, UM THERE WAS ONE
MORE THING THAT I NEEDED TO
ADDRESS. UM. YOU KNOW WHAT IF IT
COMES BACK, I'LL GET YOUR GIVEN
THAT OPPORTUNITY. LET ME JUST
SAY THANK YOU TO BOTH OF YOU FOR
BEING A PART OF THIS
CONVERSATION. I KNOW THAT IT'S
AT TIMES CHALLENGING. I HOPE
THAT YOU HAVE COME OUT OF THIS.
NO WITH OUR GREAT APPRECIATION
FOR THE PROGRESS THAT'S BEEN
MADE, AND I KNOW YOU SHARE THE
FRUSTRATIONS THAT WE HAVE AND
TWO FINAL POINTS. IT'S MY
UNDERSTANDING THAT A UNIVERSITY
PRESIDENT IT'S EVALUATED BY THE
TRUSTEES. EVERY THREE AND FIVE
YEARS IS THE FOUR YEAR
GRADUATION RATE CONTINUES TO BE
ONE OF THOSE STANDARDS OF
EVALUATION. IT DOES AND IS THE
EQUITY GAP. IS THAT ALSO A PART
OF THAT? YES, OKAY, AND THAT'S
ALSO APPLIES TO THE CHANCELLOR
AS WELL. WE'RE WELCOMING IN A
NEW CHANCELLOR MILLIE GARCIA, IN
A IN A FEW MONTHS, WERE EXCITED
ABOUT HER AT A CHANCE TO WORK
WITH HER WHEN SHE WAS UNIVERSITY
PRESIDENT. I THINK SHE'LL BRING
GREAT LEADERSHIP AND I'M GLAD TO
HEAR THAT EVALUATION STANDARDS
CONTINUE. YOU MADE REFERENCE TO
A 2035 GOAL. I KNOW IT CAUGHT
ALL OF OUR ATTENTION BECAUSE WE
KNOW THAT GETTING TO 40% BY 2025
IS A GOOD IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENT
, BUT THAT WE HAVE SO MUCH
FURTHER TO GO. AND I THINK WE
WOULD ALL WELCOME ANYMORE.
DETAILS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT
AT THIS HEARING. THAT YOU CAN
PROVIDE ABOUT THE PROCESS THAT
YOU'RE GOING FORWARD TO. TO DO
THAT. AND FINALLY I WANT TO JUST
GO BACK TO THIS ISSUE THAT I
RAISED AT THE START ABOUT
UNDERSTANDING WHAT STUDENTS
GOALS REALLY ARE AND
UNDERSTANDING. WHEN THEY CAN'T
THEY CAN'T MAKE IT. WHY? SO WE
HAVE THAT DATA THAT, UH DR
BRAZIL. YOU MENTIONED A NUMBER
OF TIMES THAT'S SO IMPORTANT TO
EVALUATING OUR WORK. UM THE LAST
REPORT WE GOT FROM THE SYSTEM ON
THE FOUR YEAR GRADUATION RATE
WAS 2020. AND WE HAVEN'T
MANDATED THAT PREVIOUSLY BEYOND
THAT TIME, WE CERTAINLY WOULD
WELCOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
HOW THINGS ARE GOING GOING
FORWARD. AND WITH THAT, THANK
YOU BOTH FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT.
WE WANT TO INVITE NOW. CAMPAIGN
FOR COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY LEADER
PRESIDENT MICHELLE AH, SEQUOIA'S
TO COME FORWARD AS YOU COME
FORWARD. I WANT TO JUST
COMPLEMENT THE CAMPAIGN FOR
THEIR DOGGEDNESS IN EVALUATING
SO MANY ELEMENTS OF STUDENT
SUCCESS AT EVERY LEVEL OF OUR
COLLEGE SYSTEM. YOU GUYS HAVE
BEEN AMAZING AND BROUGHT A DATA
DRIVEN, UH, AND A COURAGEOUS
STANCE, TOO. TRYING TO PUSH US.
AND ALL OF OUR EDUCATIONAL
LEADERS TO DO BETTER, AND I KNOW
YOU'VE LOOKED AT THIS ISSUE AND
WE WELCOME YOUR TESTIMONY. THANK
YOU, SENATOR GLASER. THANK YOU
SENATORS FOR HAVING ME TODAY I
HOPE TO BE AS DOGGED AS YOU HAVE
BEEN AS A TRUSTEE AND AS A
SENATOR, SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR
HAVING ME AS WE SHARED. MY NAME
IS MICHELE SIQUEIROS AND
PRESIDENT OF THE CAMPAIGN FOR
COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY. UM FOR THE
PAST 19 YEARS, THE CAMPAIGN FOR
COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY HAS FOCUSED
ON ENSURING GREATER ACCESS TO
OUR PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES.
PROTECTING FINANCIAL AID AND
JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, ENSURING
COMPLETION OF COLLEGE AND
CLOSING OF THE RACIAL GAPS. UM
WE HAVE BEEN UNAPOLOGETIC AND
OUR FOCUS ON RACIAL EQUITY IN
COLLEGE PREPARATION IN COLLEGE
ACCESS IN COLLEGE SUCCESS FOR
LATIN X BLACK, AMERICAN, INDIAN
, ALASKA, NATIVE ASIAN AMERICAN
NATIVE HAWAIIAN. PACIFIC
ISLANDER AND LOW INCOME
STUDENTS. UM AT THE CAMPAIGN.
OUR TOP PRIORITY IS ENSURING
THAT ACCESS FOR ALL STUDENTS. WE
CONDUCT RESEARCH. WE ADVOCATE
FOR PUBLIC POLICY. MANY OF YOU
HAVE BEEN LIED CHAMPIONS AS
WE'VE PUSHED FOR THE ASSOCIATE
DEGREE FOR TRANSFER TO
STREAMLINE TRANSFER PATHWAYS AS
WE'VE FOUGHT TO ELIMINATE
REMEDIAL EDUCATION COURSE
PLACEMENT. AS WE'VE CHAMPIONED
THE STUDENTS CENTERED FUNDING
FORMULA FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES.
NONE OF THAT WOULD BE POSSIBLE
WITHOUT YOUR LEADERSHIP AND
PARTNERSHIP IN THE WORK THAT WE
GET TO DO AS YOU KNOW, CSU
RELAUNCHED THE GRADUATION
INITIATIVE. 2025 AND 2016, WHICH
AIMS TO RAISE THE FOUR AND SIX
YEAR GRADUATION RATES, AND, JUST
AS IMPORTANTLY, CLOSE THE RACIAL
GAPS BY RACE AND ETHNICITY.
EARLIER THIS MONTH. THE CAMPAIGN
FOR COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY,
RELEASED OUR OWN ANALYSIS AND
REPORT ON THE GRADUATION
INITIATIVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT
THE PROGRESS HAS BEEN. AND EACH
OF YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED THE
COPY OF THE FULL REPORT AND I'LL
SPEAK TO SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS
BUT LOOK FORWARD TO ANSWERING
QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UM, THE DATA PAINTS A PRETTY
COMPLEX PICTURE, ONE WITH BOTH
SUCCESSES AND CHALLENGES. WE'VE
COMMENDED JUST AS YOU HAVE THE
HUGE INCREASE IN GRADUATION
RATES, ESPECIALLY THE FOUR YEAR
RATE, WHICH HAS ALREADY RAISED
EARLIER TODAY. UM YOU KNOW, THE
CSU IS OBVIOUSLY A NATIONAL
MODEL. UM AND THIS INITIATIVE IS
PARTICULARLY TRAILBLAZING AND
THE FACT THAT THERE HAVE BEEN
VERY CLEARLY ARTICULATED GOALS.
AS YOU KNOW, UM, THE CSU HAS
SUCCESSFULLY INCREASED
GRADUATION RATES AT EACH OF ITS
23 CAMPUSES FOR FIRST TIME
STUDENTS. THE FOUR YEAR
GRADUATION RATE ALMOST DOUBLED,
AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, THE
TWO AND FOUR YEAR GRADUATION
RATES FOR TRANSFER STUDENTS HAS
ALSO INCREASED. BUT THESE CSU
SUCCESSES ARE COUPLED WITH
PRETTY NOTABLE CHALLENGES AND
CONCERNS THAT WE ARE HERE TO
EXPRESS TODAY, ESPECIALLY WITH
REGARDS TO CLOSING RACIAL EQUITY
GAPS. THERE IS SLOW AND
INCONSISTENT PROGRESS ACROSS ALL
CAMPUSES, AND WE ARE ALSO
CRITICAL OF THE USE OF
UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY OR YOU
ARE. MM UM, ACROSS THE CSU, UM,
THAT YOU ARE. MM CATEGORY
INCLUDES BLACK, LATIN X AMERICAN
INDIAN, ALASKA NATIVE STUDENTS
BY COMBINING THESE THREE
DISTINCT STUDENT POPULATIONS
UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF U. R M.
THE CSU REALLY PRESENTS A SKEWED
PICTURE, ONE THAT HIDES THE FACT
THAT BLACK STUDENTS CONTINUE TO
LACK THE SUPPORT. THEY NEED TO
COMPLETE THEIR DEGREES. I WOULD
ALSO CRITIQUE THAT THE NON U R M
CATEGORY ACTUALLY INCLUDES
NATIVE HAWAIIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER
AND SOUTHEAST ASIANS, WHICH WE
KNOW ALSO FACE SIMILAR OBSTACLES
ACROSS THE S U CAMPUSES, AND IT
INCLUDES BIRACIAL AND MIXED RACE
STUDENTS. UM SO NOT A GOOD USE
OF, UM DATA ANALYSIS. ON THE
BRIGHT SIDE, THE CSU HAS BEGUN
EXPLORING SOLUTIONS FOR
IMPROVING HOW IT SERVES BLACK
STUDENTS. EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE
SYSTEM OFFICE RELEASED
RECOMMENDATIONS, UM FROM THE CSU
BLACK STUDENT SUCCESS TASK
FORCE, WHICH HIGHLIGHTS THE NEED
FOR ENROLLMENT AND RETENTION
PLANS TAILORED TO BLACK STUDENTS
SPECIFICALLY THE CSU ALSO
INCORPORATES BLACK STUDENT
SUCCESS METRICS AND PERFORMANCE
EVALUATIONS AND INTO RECRUITMENT
, TENURE AND PROMOTION PROCESSES
FOR FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATORS.
FURTHERMORE CAMPUSES SHOULD BE
REQUIRED TO REGULARLY REPORT
THEIR PROGRESS IN MEETING THE GI
2025 GOALS USING DISAGGREGATED
DATA AND NOT THE HERB AND NON
ERM CATEGORIES. I'VE CRITIQUED
EARLIER. THE DATA IS PRETTY
CLEAR. THE CSU ISN'T ON TRACK TO
MEET THREE OF THE FOUR CSU
GRADUATION INITIATIVE GOALS BY
2025. REGARDING THE GOALS
THEMSELVES. CAMPUSES HAVE
DIFFERING GRADUATION AND EQUITY
GOALS, WITH SOME CAMPUSES
SETTING CONSIDERABLY. LAST
AMBITIONS. GO AMBITIOUS GOALS IN
THE SYSTEM. WITH THIS IN MIND,
OUR REPORT EVALUATED ALL OF
THESE DATA POINTS. UM. THE
RESULTS PROBABLY WOULDN'T
SURPRISE MANY OF US SENATOR
LAIRD ALLUDED TO THIS EARLIER.
BETTER RESOURCED AND SELECTIVE
CAMPUSES GENERALLY AIMED FOR
MORE AMBITIOUS GOALS AND HAD AN
EASIER TIME MEETING THEM. BUT
ALL ALL CAMPUSES STRUGGLED TO
MEET. UM AND CLOSE EQUITY GAPS.
WE REALLY URGE THE CSU TO
REVISIT EACH CAMPUS GOAL TO
ENSURE THAT ALL CAMPUSES ARE
HELD TO A HIGH STANDARD. WITH
ADEQUATE SUPPORTS, SO THAT AS A
SYSTEM, THE CSU WILL ACTUALLY
MEET THE GRADUATION INITIATIVE
GOALS MORE BROADLY. I WANTED TO
JUST HIGHLIGHT A FEW SPECIFICS
FROM THE LENGTHY REPORT THAT WE
PUT TOGETHER. UM AND THIS, THESE
DATA POINTS SPEAK TO SOME OF THE
AMBITIOUS UNLESS AMBITIOUS GOALS
ONLY SAN DIEGO STATE SAN LUIS
OBISPO AND SONOMA SAID ALL FOUR
GOALS ABOVE THE SYSTEM WIDE
GOALS. SO G I 2025 THEY'VE SET
GOALS FOR 2025, BUT ONLY FOUR OF
THE 23. CSU CAMPUSES HAVE SET
GOALS THAT ARE AT OR ABOVE.
DOMINGUEZ HILLS, FRESNO,
HUMBOLDT L. A. MARITIME
NORTHRIDGE, SACRAMENTO AND SAN
MARCOS. ALL HAD NO GOALS THAT
WE'RE AT. WE'RE ABOVE THE SYSTEM
WIDE GOAL. IN TERMS OF
PERFORMANCE FOR FIRST TIME AND
TRANSFER STUDENTS. SAN JOSE, SAN
DIEGO, DOMINGUEZ HILLS AND
BAKERSFIELD ALL IMPROVED THEIR
RATES FOR FIRST TIME STUDENTS
AFTER BOTH FOR BOTH FOUR AND SIX
YEAR BY AT LEAST 10% POINTS.
THAT'S SOMETHING TO REALLY
CELEBRATE SAN JOSE AND SAN DIEGO
IN PARTICULAR EXCELLED AS THEY
HAD RATES OF IMPROVEMENT THAT
WERE IN THE TOP FOUR ACROSS ALL
CAMPUSES FOR BOTH TIME SPANS
LASTS ANGELES AND MONTEREY BAY
WERE THE TOP TWO PERFORMERS IN
TERMS OF RAISING GRADUATION
RATES FOR TRANSFER STUDENTS FOR
BOTH THE TWO AND THE FOUR YEAR
RATE. UM OTHER CAMPUSES THAT
RAISE THEIR RATES FOR TRANSFER
STUDENTS BY AT LEAST 10% POINTS
IN BOTH TIMES SPENDS INCLUDED
STANISLAW, SAN JOSE, SAN DIEGO
AND NORTHRIDGE. I WANT TO SHARE
WITH YOU SOME OF THE BEST AND
WORST PERFORMERS ON EQUITY GAPS
CAMPUSES WHO CLOSED EQUITY GAPS
FOR FIRST TIME STUDENTS BY AT
LEAST 5% POINTS WERE DOMINGUEZ
HILLS, FRESNO, MONTEREY BAY, SAN
MARCOS AND SONOMA. CAMPUSES
WHOSE FIRST TIME EQUITY GAPS
WORSENED BY AT LEAST 5% POINTS
WERE SAN JOSE. CAMPUSES WHO
CLOSED EQUITY GAPS FOR TRANSFER
STUDENTS BY AT LEAST 5% POINTS
WERE EAST BAY AND MARITIME.
ALTHOUGH THEY HAD A TINY SAMPLE
SIZE AND STANISLAW CAMPUSES
WHOSE TRANSFER EQUITY GAPS
WORSENED BY AT LEAST 5% POINTS
WERE SENT FRANCISCO AND CHICO
STATE AND I KNOW WE HAVE AN ALUM
HERE FROM CHICO STATE. UM THOSE
ARE JUST A FEW OF THE EXAMPLES
OF JUST THE WIDE VARIETY ACROSS
EVERY CAMPUS. WHILE THERE ARE
MANY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS REPORT
AT A BASIC LEVEL, OUR CONCLUSION
WAS THIS. THAT DEPENDING ON THE
CAMPUS, YES, YOU STUDENTS WILL
BEGIN THEIR JOURNEY UNEVEN
STARTING LINES EXPERIENCE
INEQUITABLE LEVELS OF SUPPORT
AND ARE HELD TWO VASTLY
DIFFERENT EXPECTATIONS. WITHOUT
TARGETED, INTENTIONAL INFORMED
DIFFERENTIATED STRATEGIES THAT
PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS WHO
ARE LATIN X BLACK, AMERICAN,
INDIAN, ALASKA NATIVE STUDENTS.
UM THE CSU WILL FALL SHORT AGAIN
OF THREE OF ITS FOUR STATED
GOALS IN 2025 AND WILL NOT CLOSE
THE EQUITY GAPS THAT IT HAS SET
FORTH TO CLOSE. IN A STATUS
DIVERSE IS CALIFORNIA AND IN THE
CS EUSTIS SYSTEM, IN WHICH 53%
OF ITS UNDERGRADS ARE LATIN, X
BLACK, AMERICAN, INDIAN AND
ALASKA NATIVE. THERE'S SIMPLY NO
PATH FOR MEETING THE GOALS IF WE
DON'T CLOSE GAPS FOR STUDENTS SO
HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD? ONE OF
THE CORE TOOLS THAT YOU ALL HAVE
, AS POLICYMAKERS IS TO MONITOR
AND PROVIDE OVERSIGHT, WHICH
YOU'RE DOING TODAY. UM. YOU CAN
REQUIRE ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORTS
ENSURE THAT THE DATA IS
DISAGGREGATED IN APPROPRIATE
WAYS. WE CAN START TO IMPROVE
AND ACTUALLY SEE RIGHT THE
EQUITY GAPS. BUT ANOTHER TOOL
OBVIOUSLY IS FINANCIAL,
MULTIYEAR STATE BUDGET COMPACT
BETWEEN THE STATE AND THE CSU.
THE STATE IS COMMITTED TO
PROVIDING AN ANNUAL BASE OF
FUNDING INCREASES TO THE CSU AS
WE SAW IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET,
AND WE'RE GRATEFUL TO SEE THAT
YOU KNOW THAT AGREEMENT CAN BE
AMENDED TO URGE THE CSU TO
PROVIDE DATA TO SEGREGATED.
AGAIN RETIRE THE USE OF U. R M
AND NON U R M CATEGORIES ON CORE
METRIC ISSUES. FINALLY ALSO AS A
STATE, YOU CAN PROVIDE A
COORDINATING ROLE, VARIOUS
BUDGET AND LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS
. TACKLE STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH,
STUDENT HOUSING, BASIC NEEDS
ADVISING COUNSELING ALL THE
THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN MENTIONED
BY YOU TODAY. UM HOW ARE THOSE
ALIGNED WITH THE GOALS OF THE
GRADUATION INITIATIVE AND TO
PROVIDE SUPPORT TO CLOSE EQUITY
GAPS SPECIFICALLY AT A MINIMUM
POLICYMAKERS, YOU CAN REQUIRE
THAT INVESTMENTS BOTH VIA THE
COMPACT AND STAND ALONE. ARE
ALIGNED WITH THE GI 2025 OR G.
2035. IF THAT'S WHERE WE GO. UM
SO THAT WE CAN DO BETTER.
ACCOMPLISHING OF COURSE, ALL OF
THIS IS GOING TO REQUIRE ALL OF
US, NOT JUST THE CSU AND ITS
BOARD OF TRUSTEES,
ADMINISTRATORS, STAKEHOLDERS AND
POLICYMAKERS. UM BUT WE REALLY
DO NEED TO FUNDAMENTALLY
REIMAGINE WHAT THE TYPICAL CSU
STUDENT IS CAPABLE OF. UM I JUST
WANTED TO GO BACK TO YOUR
COMMENTS, SENATOR GLACIER AROUND
CULTURE CHANGE AND THIS WORK NOT
BEING EASY REPORT SPEAKS TO SOME
OF THE MAYBE THE EASIER THINGS
THAT CAN BE DONE AROUND THE
BUDGET AROUND INVESTMENTS AROUND
GOAL SETTING, BUT WE HEARD DR
GOLD AND DR BRAZIL TALKED ABOUT
THERE ISN'T A SILVER BULLET. I
CERTAINLY AGREE WITH THAT. THEY
TALKED ABOUT CHANGING CULTURE. I
CERTAINLY AGREE WITH THAT. YOU
KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS ARE
REPORT DOESN'T GO INTO AND I'M
GLAD I'LL BE FOLLOWED BY
INCREDIBLE LEADERS OF CSU
CAMPUSES IS THE REALITY THAT
CAMPUS BY CAMPUS FACULTY BY
FACULTY, THAT IS WHAT'S GOING TO
BE REQUIRED IN ORDER TO ACTUALLY
PRODUCE DIFFERENT RESULTS. JUST
SUNDAY, I WAS HAVING AH, COFFEE
WITH THE FORMER PROVOST, ONE OF
THE CSU CAMPUSES WHO SHARED WITH
ME HOW DIFFICULT IT WAS TO GET
DATA ON COURSE PASS RATES BY
EACH FACULTY MEMBER WHEN THAT
DATA WAS FINALLY PRODUCED, WHAT
YOU COULD SEE WAS PATTERNS OF
FACULTY WHO ACTUALLY HAD REALLY
HIGH PASS RATES. ACROSS
DIFFERENT RACIAL ETHNIC GROUPS
AND SOME WHO WHO DID NOT. THIS
IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR REALLY
INTENTIONAL PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT OR TO DETERMINE YOU
KNOW IF THE FACULTY THAT ARE
THERE ARE EQUIPPED WITH THE
RESOURCES THEY NEED AND THE
TOOLS AND SUPPORT THEY NEED TO
ACTUALLY SUPPORT STUDENTS. WE
DON'T TALK ABOUT REAL BIAS
AGAINST STUDENTS. WE DON'T TALK
ABOUT REAL EFFECTS OF RACISM
THAT EXISTS IN THE CLASSROOM,
JUST LIKE THEY EXIST ACROSS OUR
SOCIETY WERE ALL SKIRTING AROUND
THE VERY REAL TOPIC AROUND
CULTURE CHANGES. ALSO, DO WE
BELIEVE STUDENTS FULL CAPACITY.
YES STUDENTS ARE FACING ALL
KINDS OF FINANCIAL CHALLENGES,
ALL KINDS OF BURDENS. BUT IF WE
NEVER EVEN BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN
PASS THE CLASS. WHY WOULD WE BE
SURPRISED THAT THEY DON'T? SO I
GLAD THAT YOU'RE ASKING THE EVEN
TOUGHER QUESTIONS THAT ARE FULL
REPORT DIDN'T GET TO ADDRESS I
DO INVITE YOU TO LOOK AT THE
FULL REPORT. YOU CAN SEE CAMPUS
BY CAMPUS IN YOUR DISTRICT. WHAT
CAMPUSES ARE IMPROVING AND
CLOSING THE GAP, WHICH ONES ARE
NOT, AND BY YOU RAISING THE
QUESTIONS. I THINK WE'RE GOING
TO GET TO A MUCH BETTER PLACE.
SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY
MUCH FOR YOUR SHARP BUT POIGNANT
POINTS AND QUESTIONS AND I'M
SURE THAT SENATOR LAIRD IS
TAKING NOTES ON YOUR BUDGETARY
LINKS. UM. NG¯ÜI QUESTION THAT.
AH YOU MAY NOT KNOW THE ANSWER
TO, BUT I'LL ASK IT. DO YOU
THINK THE TRUSTEES ARE REALLY
PAYING ATTENTION? DO YOU HAVE
ANY SENSE OF IT? ARE THEY THIS
STUFF IS NOT NEW. WE'VE HELD
HEARINGS ON THIS STUFF BEFORE.
DO YOU THINK THAT THEY'RE
THEY'RE DOING WELL ON THE WHOLE
TRANSFER ISSUE. I REMEMBER WHEN
I WAS A TRUSTEE. WE WERE SO
OUTRAGED BY THE LACK OF
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE FACULTY
OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN THE
CSU. THAT IS A TRUSTEE. WE SAID
WE WANT TO REPORT EVERY MEETING.
WE MEET EVERY TWO MONTHS. EVERY
MEETING. WE WANT AN UPDATE AS TO
WHAT EVERY COMMUNITY COLLEGE IS
DOING WITH THE CSU IS DOING AND
THE MODEL TRANSFER. REQUIREMENT.
BUT DO YOU THINK THEY'RE DOING
THAT TODAY ON THIS EQUITY GAP
ISSUE? DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF
THAT? BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S
OBVIOUSLY BEEN A LOT OF NEWER
TRUSTEES APPOINTED SENATOR
GLACIER. THERE'S NOT BEEN A
SINGLE TRUSTEE I HAVE TALKED TO
THAT DOESN'T CARE ABOUT THIS
ISSUE. UM I THINK THERE'S A HUGE
OPPORTUNITY WITH THIS NEW BOARD
OF TRUSTEES WITH THE NEW
INCOMING CHANCELLORS, SOMEBODY
WHO ACTUALLY WAS REALLY
EFFECTIVE AT CLOSING GAPS AT CAL
STATE FULLERTON, WHERE SHE WAS
PRESIDENT. UM I DO THINK THAT
THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY AND I DO
BELIEVE IN. YOU KNOW, PART OF
PUTTING THIS REPORT OUT THERE IS
YES, LET'S CELEBRATE. I THINK
YOU MENTIONED IT EARLIER THAT
THERE WAS, I THINK A BIGGER
SENSE OF DEFENSIVENESS AROUND
SOME OF THE DATA THAT I THINK IS
, THANKFULLY, NOT AS STRONG
TODAY. UM I THINK THERE'S MORE
OPENNESS TO MOVING THE WORK
FORWARD, AND I CERTAINLY HAVE
LOTS OF HOPE IN THE NEW
CHANCELLOR. TERRIFIC AND BY THE
WAY SHE WAS PRESIDENT AT AT
DOMINGA SILLS AS WELL CORRECT
DIVERSITY OF CONNECTION TO THE
SYSTEM. WELL, I HOPE THAT
THERE'S SOME TRUSTEES WATCHING
AND LISTENING BECAUSE WE NEED
THEIR LEADERSHIP. WE HAVE
WONDERFUL LEADERS IN THE CSU AND
FANTASTIC INCOMING CHANCELLOR
AND WONDERFUL PRESIDENTS, ONE OF
WHOM RECENTLY APPOINTED WE'LL
HEAR FROM IN A MOMENT. BUT WE DO
NEED TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO KEEP
AIMING HIGHER AND DO BETTER. ANY
OTHER QUESTIONS. SENATOR LAIRD
I'M SORRY, JUST A BRIEF COMMENT.
THE. ISSUE OF ARTICULATION
BETWEEN COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND
CS USES SO VERY MUCH A PRESENT
ISSUE THAT I JUST DID A ZOOM
WITH THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND
JASON NOT FAR FROM FROM CAL POLY
AND THEY WANT THE FOUR YEAR
DEGREE COMMUNITY COLLEGES
BECAUSE THEY THINK THE
ARTICULATION IS FAILING AND IT
AND IT AND I THINK I ACTUALLY
SAID TO HER. I SUSPECT YOU'RE
DOING THIS BECAUSE YOU REALLY
WANT TO SEE IF YOU CAN GET
PEOPLE'S ATTENTION TO FIX THIS
PROBLEM, AND IF YOU CAN'T THEN
THIS IS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE AND
SHE AND SO MANY WORDS, SHE SAID
. THAT'S RIGHT. BUT JUST FOR THE
RECORD, IT'S JUST VERY MUCH
PRESENT. THANK YOU, SENATOR
LAIRD, SENATOR NEWMAN. THANK YOU
, SENATOR. I WANT TO COMMEND THE
CAMPAIGN FOR NOT JUST YOUR
ANALYSIS, BUT YOU KNOW, KIND OF
YOUR VIGILANCE AND KEEPING US
AND OTHERS FOCUSED. ON THE REAL
GOALS. AND I THINK YOU'VE DONE
THAT, MISSY. WELL AS WE LOOK
FORWARD APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW,
YOU'RE THINKING WHAT FACTORS THE
LEGISLATURE SHOULD BE THINKING
WHEN CONSIDERING IN THE FUTURE,
HOW TO SUPPORT THE G 2025
INITIATIVES AND OTHER SIMILAR
INITIATIVES. WELL, I THINK FIRST
AND FOREMOST, YOU HAVE TO
COMMUNICATE THAT YOU SUPPORT
THIS LEVEL OF GOAL SETTING
RIGHT? WE WOULDN'T WANT FOR US
TO GET TO 2025 AND FOR THE
SYSTEM TO SAY WE'RE NOT GOING TO
SET A VISION AND A AGGRESSIVE
GOALS MOVING FORWARD. WE'RE NOT
GOING TO ADDRESS CLOSING THE
GAPS. I HOPE THAT WE DON'T
RETRENCH RIGHT. AND SO I THINK
ONE THAT'S IMPORTANT AND TO
COMMUNICATE THAT YOU EXPECT TO
SEE PROGRESS RIGHT AND TO FIND
ALL THE WAYS THAT YOU CAN AND
INTEGRATE ALL OF THE ALLOCATIONS
TO THE ISSUE WITH AN EXPECTATION
OF SUPPORT FOR G 2025 OR
WHATEVER THE NEXT INITIATIVE IS,
I WOULD ASK WHAT YOU KNOW WITH
THAT IN MIND. HOW SHOULD WE AS A
LEGISLATURE THINK OF AN APPROACH
THOSE CAMPUSES THAT FALL SHORT
OF THEIR GOALS BY WAY OF OUR
POLICY MAKERS. I THINK THAT'S UM
. THAT IS PROBABLY THE HARDER
QUESTION RIGHT TO FIGURE OUT
WHAT ARE THE WAYS THAT WE CAN
ENSURE THAT AT EVERY CAMPUS,
THERE'S AN UNEQUAL COMMITMENT. I
WILL TELL YOU THAT, YOU KNOW,
BEHIND THE SCENES I'VE HEARD
FROM FOLKS THAT ARE VERY HONEST
ABOUT SAYING AT OUR CAMPUS. THIS
DOESN'T MATTER. YEAH, I GUESS TO
SENATOR GLACIERS POINT EARLIER
AND IT'S ONE THING TO HAVE GOALS
AND THESE KINDS OF INITIATIVES.
ANOTHER THING TO HOLD PEOPLE
TRULY ACCOUNTABLE AND APPLY THE
LESSONS LEARNED NOT JUST ACROSS
THE WHOLE EXPERIMENT BUT
SPECIFICALLY TO THOSE CAMPUSES
THAT ARE MOST IN NEEDED OR DON'T
RESPOND. WELL UM AND YOUR POINT
IS WELL TAKEN THERE. I JUST LAST
THING TO POINT OUT THAT THE
INCOMING CHANCELLOR WAS ALSO
PRESIDENT. CAL STATE FLORIDA GOT
THAT GOING FOR YOU. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, SENATOR TRUMAN. THANK
YOU SO MUCH, MR QUIROZ FOR THE
GREAT WORK THAT YOUR
ORGANIZATION IS DONE, AND YOU
HAVE AND YOUR LEADERSHIP HAS
PROVIDED WE APPRECIATE YOUR
INSIGHT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
MEMBERS WERE GOING TO BE JOINED
NOW BY A STUDENT LEADER,
SAMANTHA ALVAREZ OF ARIA. SHE'S
THE VICE PRESIDENT OF
LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS AT CSU
DOMINGUEZ HILLS. AND I KNOW
SHE'S GOING TO BE PRESENTING HER
TESTIMONY VIA REMOTE AH AND, UH
SAMANTHA, ARE YOU THERE? YES CAN
YOU HEAR ME? CAN THANK YOU SO
MUCH FOR JOINING US AND PLEASE
GO AHEAD. THANK YOU. GOOD
AFTERNOON CHAIRS AND MEMBERS. MY
NAME IS SAMANTHA ALVAREZ
CHAVARRIA, AND I'M A STUDENT AT
CAL STATE DOMINGUEZ HILLS. I AM
ALSO THE VICE PRESIDENT OF
LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS OR THE NO,
THANKS, LEGISLATIVE THAT ALWAYS
HAPPENS. I DON'T KNOW. IF YOU
CAN HEAR US. WE LOST YOUR
CONNECTION. CAN YOU HEAR US?
GONNA GIVE IT ANOTHER FEW
SECONDS. THEN WE'LL GO TO THE
NEXT PANEL. AND IF WE CAN
RESTORE THE LINK. WE HOPE TO
HAVE UP ARE THERE ARE YOU BACK?
YES I'M SO SORRY. CAN YOU HEAR
ME NOW? WE CAN WE CAN TRY IT ONE
MORE TIME. WE HEARD YOU IDENTIFY
YOURSELF AND YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
AND WE LOST YOU AFTER THAT, SO
WE'LL GIVE IT ANOTHER ANOTHER
TRY. YES I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THAT
AGAIN. MY NAME IS SAMANTHA. I AM
THE VICE PRESIDENT OF
LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS FOR THE
CALIFORNIA STATE STUDENT
ASSOCIATION. AND I'M JUST
HONORED TO BE HERE TODAY IN
ORDER TO TALK ABOUT THE STUDENT
PERSPECTIVE OF THIS YEAR'S USE
GRADUATION INITIATIVES. AM I
STILL COULDN'T GET OUT. NO, WE
CAN HEAR YOU. FINE NOW. OKAY
THANK YOU. JUST MAKING SURE. UM
JUST TO CONTINUE. THE CSC SYSTEM
HAS SEEN A STEADY INCREASE IN
FOUR YEAR GRADUATION RATES OVER
THE PAST FEW YEARS, SEVERAL
CAMPUSES HAVE SHOWN REMARKABLE
PROGRESS DUE TO THEIR
IMPLEMENTED INNOVATIVE
MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS, RESULTING
IN THE 10% IMPROVEMENT AND FOR
YOUR GRADUATION RATES. OVERALL
IT IS ENCOURAGING TO SEE THE
DOUBLING OF FOUR YEAR GRADUATION
RATES SINCE 2015 AND THE
COMMENDABLE RISE IN TRANSFER
GRADUATION RATES. HOWEVER, IT IS
ALSO MADE EVIDENT THAT THERE ARE
STILL GAPS AMONGST BLACK AND
LATINO SIX STUDENTS WHEN IT
COMES TO TIMELY GRADUATION.
CLOSING THOSE GAPS SHOULD REMAIN
A CRUCIAL MISSION OF US AS YES,
I SAY AND THE BUSY ISSUE IF WE
TRULY WANT TO ACHIEVE EQUITY AND
THE GOALS OF THE G, I 2025 MY
CAMPUS CSU DOMINGUEZ HILLS.
THERE HAS BEEN PROGRESS. IN A
REPORT RELEASED BY THE CAMPAIGN
FOR COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY. THEY
HAVE FOUND THAT THE FOUR YEAR
GRADUATION RATE FOR ALL OF THE
FIRST TIME STUDENTS HAS
INCREASED FROM 6% TO 20% AND
THAT THE SIX YEAR GRADUATION
RATE HAS INCREASED FROM 35% TO
46% SINCE 2015. STILL, IT IS
EXTREMELY UNLIKELY THAT MY
CAMPUS WILL REACH THE SYSTEM. MY
GOES BY 2025. CLEARLY SEVERAL
CAMPUSES STILL FACE CHALLENGES,
AND THE CSU SHOULD STILL BE
ACTIVELY WORKING ON TAILORED
SOLUTIONS FOR THOSE CAMPUSES.
GRADUATING ON TIME IS A COMPLEX
ISSUE AND AN IMPORTANT CONCERN
FOR CSU STUDENTS INFLUENCED BY
VARIOUS FACTORS. MANY OF OUR
STUDENTS EXPERIENCED FINANCIAL
CONSTRAINTS DUE TO THE COST OF
PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION, WHICH
WHICH REQUIRES THEM TO WORK PART
TIME AND EVEN FULL TIME JOBS.
THIS LEADS THEM TO PRIORITIZING
WORK FOR SURVIVAL VERSUS TAKING
15 UNITS, AS RECOMMENDED.
ACADEMIC CHALLENGES AND
ADMINISTRATIVE BARRIERS, SUCH AS
COURSE, AVAILABILITY AND MAJOR
REQUIREMENTS CAN EXTEND THE
GRADUATION TIMELINE. MOREOVER
PERSONAL FACTORS SUCH AS FAMILY
COMMITMENTS AND MENTAL HEALTH
PLAY SIGNIFICANT ROLE. WE HAVE
OBSERVED THAT STUDENTS WHO LACK
ADEQUATE SUPPORT SYSTEMS ARE
MORE LIKELY TO DROP OUT OR TO
TAKE LONGER TO GRADUATE,
EMPHASIZING THE NEED FOR MORE
COMPREHENSIVE REPORT. SUPPORT I
SERVE AS AN EMPLOYEE FOR THE
OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS AND
RECRUITMENT AS A STUDENT, AND
DURING MY TIME I WAS ABLE TO
INTERACT WITH STUDENTS WHO SHARE
UNIQUE BACKGROUNDS AND
CIRCUMSTANCES. UM THERE'S STILL
A STORY THAT HAS STUCK WITH ME.
AND IT'S ABOUT A STUDENT
RETURNING TO CAMPUS AFTER THREE
YEARS, TAKING A BREAK.
WE'VE LOST YOUR WE'VE LOST OUR
CONNECTION WITH YOU. I'M AH! I
GUESS WE'LL TRY TO RESTORE IT
AGAIN ONE LAST TIME.
LET ME DO THIS WHILE WE'RE
WAITING TO SEE IF WE CAN RESTORE
OUR CONNECTION WITH SAMANTHA.
LET LET ME INVITE UP OUR NEXT
PANEL. AND WE'LL GIVE IT A SHOT
TO SEE IF WE CAN RECONNECT TO
FINISH UP HER TESTIMONY. SO LET
ME INVITE DR KAREN SYSTEM. A
SYSTEM GUN, WHO IS THE PROVOST
AT CAL STATE UNIVERSITY. LONG
BEACH. WELCOME TO YOU. AND LET
ME ALSO INVITED DR LUKE WOULD
THEN NEW NEW PRESIDENT AT
SACRAMENTO STATE. WELCOME TO
YOU, DOCTOR, WOULD I? I'LL TELL
YOU AS YOU'RE COMING UP HERE
THAT I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF
SERVING AS CHAIR OF THE, UH,
SACRAMENTO STATE PRESIDENTIAL
SELECTION COMMITTEE THAT THAT'S
SELECTED ROBERT NELSON A NUMBER
OF YEARS AGO. AND, UH, HE HEARD
FROM US IN THAT PROCESS, UH,
ABOUT OUR CONCERN ABOUT THE FOUR
YEAR GRADUATION RATE AT
SACRAMENTO STATE, IT WAS LIKE
THE SECOND LOWEST IN THE ENTIRE
SYSTEM. AND I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW
THRILLED I WAS TO WATCH HIS
LEADERSHIP DURING THOSE YEARS
THAT HE SERVED TO JUST TURN
THINGS AROUND IN A MASSIVE WAY.
YOU HEARD THE TESTIMONY ABOUT
CULTURE. HE WAS LIKE A ONE MAN
CULTURE SHOW. CAME IN THERE AND
HE PUT SIGNS UP EVERYWHERE THAT
SAID, FINISHED IN FOUR AND HE
WAS IT WAS REALLY A BIG DEAL.
AND YOU YOU'RE YOU'RE RISING.
THE CAMPUS IS RISING ON HIS
SHOULDERS, AND WE'RE PROUD OF
HIM AND PROUD OF YOU FOR YOUR
NEW SELECTION THERE. WHICH ARE
YOU ARE GOING TO BEGIN. ZERO IN
ORDER TO THIS SO LONG BEACH. LET
ME JUST TAKE IT COMPLEMENTS THE
LONG BEACH. I MEAN, YOU HEARD ME
EARLIER IN THE HEARING. HOW
IMPRESSED I AM WITH THE PROGRESS
THAT LANGUAGE IS MADE. UM AND
ALSO WHEN I TALK ABOUT STUDENT
AWARENESS OF A FOUR YEAR TRACK,
I THINK THAT'S WHERE LONG BEACH
HAS ALSO SHINED ALONG WITH
SACRAMENTO STATE. BUT THIS ISSUE
OF EQUITY GAPS IS A BIG DEAL AS
YOU'VE HEARD, AND YOU GUYS ARE
WORKING ON IT VERY HARD AND WE
LOVE TO HEAR SOME BEST PRACTICES
THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH US.
BEGIN WITH LONG BEACH. THANK YOU
SO MUCH. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW,
UM, IMPORTANT IT IS FOR US TO
HAVE BEEN INVITED TO THIS
CONVERSATION AND THE DIFFERENT
LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE
CARE OF OUR STUDENTS HAVING BEEN
INVOLVED AND INVITED TO THIS
CONVERSATION IS REALLY HE. SO WE
THANK YOU FOR THAT, UM THE
INTEREST IN ALL OF OUR STUDENTS
ACHIEVING AND THE RECOGNITION
THAT THIS IS A COMPLEX ISSUE IS
NOT LOST ON YOU AND YOUR UM, YOU
KNOW, LEADERSHIP AND STEWARDSHIP
OF THE OF THE STATE, AND SO WE
APPRECIATE THAT WE ARE AT THE
CAMPUS LEVELS. UM DOCTOR WOULD
AND MYSELF AND SO OUR VANTAGE
POINT IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. AND
I THINK THE THINGS THAT ARE TOP
OF MIND FOR US. MAYBE A LITTLE
DIFFERENT AS WELL. UM ADMITTEDLY
, THERE IS A, UM, CONCERNED
ABOUT OUR CAMPUSES AND THE
STUDENTS AND FACULTY AND OTHER
PEOPLE WHO, UH, ARE WHO WE ARE
RESPONSIBLE FOR. SO I'D LIKE TO,
UM, YOU KNOW, SHARE MY UM,
POINTS OF ENGAGEMENT AROUND
AROUND THAT VANTAGE POINT. SO
JUST JUST FOR KELL ST LONG
BEACH, WE HAVE AN AMBITIOUS
STRATEGIC PLAN. IT'S WE CALL IT
BEACH, 2030. IT'S A PLAN THAT
WAS, UM, DEVELOPED BY THE
COMMUNITY OF CARE FOR LONG BEACH
OVER A PERIOD OF TIME TO EXAMINE
WHERE THE BENEFITS AND
POSSIBILITIES FOR THIS CAMPUS TO
MOVE FORWARD LIE AND I CAN TELL
YOU THERE TO ACTIONS THAT
OUTLINE. UM, ANCHORING AIMS IN
THAT PLAN, AND THAT IS TO BUILD
AN EQUITABLE AND EMPOWERING
CULTURE. AND TO BE A STUDENT
READY UNIVERSITY. AND THOSE TWO
ARE AS IT RELATES TO STUDENT
SUCCESS INEXTRICABLY LINKED. UH
THESE ACTION ITEMS WORK TO
EMPHASIZE A REALITY, UH, THAT IN
ORDER TO BE FULLY PREPARED TO
SERVE OUR INCREASINGLY DIVERSE
AND COMPLEX STUDENT BODY. AS
WE'VE DECLARED, WE'LL DO EVERY
STAFF MEMBER AND FACULTY MEMBER
AND INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS A STAKE
IN THE WELLNESS OF THE BEACH.
HAS TO GO THROUGH, UM AND
EMBRACE. I WOULD SAY A
SOCIALIZATION PROCESS THAT EACH
OF THEM IS A PART OF THE
EQUATION. THAT MAKES OUR CAMPUS
UM AND EQUITABLE AND EMPOWERING
CULTURE. UM AS PROVOST,
ACHIEVING THIS, UH,
STRATEGICALLY ENVISIONED BEACH
CULTURE THAT'S UM, MEMORIALIZED
IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN IS A
MIRROR IS INVOLVES MYRIAD
CONSIDERATIONS. UM. THE
UNDENIABLE IMPLICATIONS. ACTIONS
AND NEEDS AND INTENTIONS AND
DOLLARS AND YOU KNOW ALL OF
THOSE THINGS THAT WILL MOVE
FORWARD A CULTURE TOWARD
EMBRACING AND SERVING STUDENTS.
ALL ITS STUDENTS IN A BETTER WAY
IS A IS AN EVOLUTION. THE
GRADUATION INITIATIVE, 2025 HAS
BEEN KEY TO COALESCING OUR
EFFORTS AROUND STUDENT SUCCESS
THAT THAT IS WITHOUT QUESTION,
AND THERE IS, UM I THINK WE AT
THE BEACH MIMIC PROUDLY THE
OUTCOMES THAT WE'RE SEEING
AROUND THE FOUR YEAR DEGREE
COMPLETION RATES IN MANY REGARDS
OUR OUTCOMES. MIRROR THOSE OF
THE AT THE SYSTEM LEVEL AND THIS
SIGNALS THAT WE ARE HAVING
ATTAINED A, UM UH, A GRADUATION
RATE OF 38% FOR OUR 2018 COHORT.
WE ARE WELL ON OUR WAY TO
MEETING THE QUANTITATIVE G 2025
GOAL FOR A FOUR YEAR GRADUATION
RATES SO THAT THAT IS MUCH TO
CELEBRATE, THIS THIS MEANS THAT
WE HAVE COMING FROM A BASELINE
OF 16. MADE AN IMPACT ON
NUMEROUS FAMILIES, STUDENTS.
BEING ABLE TO REALIZE THEIR
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT GOALS TO
BE ABLE TO CONTRIBUTE TO THEIR
COMMUNITIES. AND BEYOND. EVEN
THE CALIFORNIA WORKFORCE, UM IS
A RECIPIENT OF THIS KIND OF
ACHIEVEMENT. BUT YET. WE ARE
SOBER ABOUT WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR
2025. UH AND ON OUR CAMPUS. WE
HAVE A COMMITMENT TO REMAIN
AGGRESSIVE. TO REACHING OUR
DEGREE COMPLETION GOALS AND
CLOSE PERSISTENT EQUITY GAPS.
BUT THAT IS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT.
FROM SO MANY POINTS OF
DISCUSSION. CLOSING OUR EQUITY
GAPS IS A HOLISTIC
CONSIDERATION. AND IF WE LOOK AT
THE KINDS OF, UM INTERVENTIONS
AND. THE TYPES OF DATA THAT GO
ALONG WITH SHOWING THAT WE ARE
UM. YOU KNOW, MAKING PROGRESS ON
OUR DEGREE GOALS. WHEN WE LOOK
AT THOSE FORMATIVE GOALS LIKE
RETENTION AND OTHER INDICATORS.
WE SEE THAT IF WE UNPACK THOSE
INDICATORS THERE ARE. MASKED
TRENDS THAT WITHOUT USING THESE
DISAGGREGATED DATA, WE WOULD
NEVER BE ABLE TO IDENTIFY.
EXAMINE. AND DETERMINE WAYS OF,
UM, INTERVENTION. SO I REALLY
APPRECIATE MISCHIEVOUS ARIAS. UM
PERSPECTIVE AS A STUDENT BECAUSE
SHE ILLUSTRATES THAT GOAL. SHE
TALKED ABOUT NUMEROUS AH,
IMPACTS THAT ULTIMATELY ROLL UP
IN A HOLISTIC WAY. I THINK TO,
UM, BEING ABLE TO HAVE SOME REAL
IMPACT ON CLOSING OUR EQUITY
GAPS. UM ON OUR CAMPUS. WHEN WE
. ALIGN OUR, UM STRATEGIES WITH
THE EQUITY PRIORITIES THAT THAT
UM, CAME ABOUT IN ABOUT 2021.
THAT IS WHEN I THINK THE SYSTEM
AT LARGE REALIZED THE POWER OF
UTILIZATION OF DISAGGREGATED
DATA. AND ADDRESSING EQUITY
GAPS. SO WE'VE DONE NUMEROUS
THINGS, AND I'D BE HAPPY TO TALK
ABOUT SOME OF THE STRATEGIES
THAT WE'VE CONDUCTED. WE AT THE
BEACH AND VISION, THE
EDUCATIONAL PROCESS AS A
PIPELINE OF SORTS. AND NOT ONLY
ARE THEIR INTERVENTIONS THAT ARE
APPROPRIATE FOR STUDENTS WE KNOW
BASED ON THEIR EDUCATIONAL, UM.
LEVELS OF ATTAINMENT AND THE
OTHER TYPES OF INDICATORS THAT
WE CAN USE TO MEASURE THEIR
SUCCESS. BUT THERE'S A PIPELINE
AS STUDENTS MOVE THROUGH FROM
THEIR FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE AT
ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO A DEGREE
COMPLETION. UM A SUCCESSFUL
DEGREE COMPLETION. THERE ARE
THERE ARE INTERVENTIONS THAT CAN
BE CONSIDERED, AND SO I'D BE
HAPPY TO TALK. ABOUT SOME OF THE
THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE AT THE
BEACH, BUT WE AGAIN REMAIN SOBER
THAT THE WORK LIES AHEAD. THAT
WE HAVE LEARNED NEW WAYS OF
UTILIZING DATA UTILIZING VERY
GRANULAR INFORMATION. TO GIVE US
AN UNDERSTANDING A BETTER
UNDERSTANDING OF OUR STUDENTS
AND HOW THEY'RE HOW THEY'RE
DOING AND ILLUMINATE
OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO BE ABLE
TO PROVIDE SOME SENSE OF SUPPORT
FOR STUDENTS. UM YOU KNOW, BASED
ON THEIR THEIR THEIR, UH,
IDENTITIES AND OTHER ELEMENTS OF
WHO THEY ARE AS STUDENTS. SO I
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. I WANT
TO ASSURE YOU THAT AS PROVOST AT
CAL STATE LONG BEACH PARROT THE
INTENTION THAT WE ARE NONPLUSSED
. WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE, UM UH,
PROGRESS TO BE MADE. BUT WE ARE
NONPLUSSED AND WE ARE HERE TO
CONTINUE MOVING FORWARD FOR THE
SAKE OF OUR CAMPUS. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, DOCTOR. TO SOME GUN.
BUT YOU MENTIONED THERE'S SOME
SPECIFICS. AND I DO WANT TO PUT
ON THE RECORD. SOME
SPECIFICALLY, YOU KNOW YOU
CERTAINLY I WANT TO HEAR DR
WOULD BUT I WANT YOU TO USE THIS
OPPORTUNITY THAT, YOU KNOW. WHAT
IS IT? WHY WOULD WE THINK
ANYTHING IS GONNA CHANGE THAT
LONG BEACH. YOU'RE YOU'RE YOUR
EQUITY GAP WAS 8.2% IN THE 2011
COHORT. IT'S AH 7.8% ALMOST NO
CHANGE. IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS.
SO WHAT WITH THE MONEY THAT
YOU'RE GETTING? WHAT ARE YOU
DOING TO TRY TO SAY THAT IT'S
NOT GOING TO BE THE SAME WHEN WE
COME BACK TWO YEARS FROM NOW?
CAN YOU POINT TO SOME SPECIFIC
THINGS? YEAH I CAN, UM FIRST OF
ALL, I THINK WHAT'S IMPORTANT IS
TO GO BACK TO THE WAY I THINK
THE SYSTEM AT LARGE. HAS
RECOGNIZED THAT LOOKING AT UNDER
REPRESENTED DATA ALL ROLLED UP
TOGETHER. RIGHT? DON'T GIVE US
POSITION US IN THE BEST PLACES
AND GIVE US THE BEST
OPPORTUNITIES. TO IDENTIFY
SPECIFIC. WHAT WE THINK WOULD BE
EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS FOR
STUDENTS BASED ON THEIR
IDENTITIES, COLLECTING DATA
BETTER SO THAT YOU CAN BREAK IT
DOWN AND KNOW THAT THERE ARE
SPECIFIC TARGETS AND THEREFORE
SPECIFIC STRATEGIES FOR EACH
TARGET. SO THAT'S ONE THING
YOU'RE DOING DIFFERENTLY. THAT'S
EXACTLY RIGHT. THAT'S EXACTLY
RIGHT. AND THAT THE FOUNDATION
FOR HOW YOU LOOK AT IT GOING
FORWARD FUNDAMENTAL POINT THAT
YOU THINK WELL MEAN A CHANGE. I
DO THINK THAT CENTRALLY AS A
RELATES TO, UM, STRATEGIES FOR
THAT ANY CAMPUS COULD ADOPT
TOWARDS TRYING TO ADDRESS EQUITY
GAPS. THAT DATA ARE THE KEY
AGGREGATED DATA ARE THE ABSOLUTE
UM. INFORMATION AND LEVERAGE
THAT CAMPUSES WILL NEED TO USE
IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY MOST
SPECIFICALLY STUDENTS AND HOW
THEY'RE PERFORMING AND HOW
THEY'RE BEING AFFECTED BY, UM
YOU KNOW, GOING ALONG IN THEIR
COLLEGE EXPERIENCE, YOU KNOW HOW
MANY KIDS DROP OUT OF LONG BEACH
EVERY YEAR? WITHOUT A DEGREE
COMPLETION. YOU HAVE ANY. YOU
KNOW WHAT THOSE NUMBERS ARE? WE
DO. I DO HAVE RETENTION DATA AND
THE INTERESTING THING ABOUT OUR
RETENTION DATA. OF COURSE. THE,
UM THE GI 2025 INITIATIVE BEGAN
IN 2015. BUT THERE ARE SOME
INTERESTING TRENDS THAT
DEMONSTRATE THAT ALONG THAT THAT
TIME ALMOST ALIGNED WITH THE
FACT OF USING ANOTHER. UH
AGGREGATED DATA WE SAW RETENTION
JUST USING AS A METRIC. UM
INDICATORS. IT MAY BE STATIC IN
SOME WAYS, MAYBE GO DOWN. BUT
THERE WASN'T A WAY OF THERE
WASN'T REAL WAYS OF LOOKING AT
IN ASSOCIATING THOSE RETENTION
RATES WITH SOMETHING SPECIFIC
WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR RETENTION
DATA FROM FALL, 21 THOSE DATA
BEGAN TO SHIFT AND THAT'S
ALONGSIDE THE PANDEMIC. AND
THERE'S CERTAIN POPULATIONS OF
STUDENTS. FOR INSTANCE, IF YOU
LOOK AT OUR BLACK STUDENT
RETENTION DATA, BOTH FIRST TIME
FRESHMEN AND TRANSFERS TO
TRANSFER DATA THOSE DATA ALL
FROM BETWEEN FALL 2019 AND
BEYOND BEGAN TO TAKE A DECLINE,
A DECREASE AND SO THAT'S AN
EXAMPLE OF THE USE OF THE
SEGREGATING DATA AND LOOKING AT
TRENDS THAT ARE HAPPENING AMONG
YOU KNOW, UH, PARTICULAR STUDENT
POPULATIONS, AND I THINK YOU'RE
MAKING A GOOD POINT. AND YOU'RE
SPEAKING ABOUT ADMISSION DATA
NOW NOT ABOUT COMPLETION OR
FAILURE TO COMPLETE DATA. AND
THAT'S THE PART THAT AND I DON'T
EXPECT YOU TO ANSWER THIS NOW.
BUT IT IS A POINT OF SURPRISE
THAT AT OUR UNIVERSITIES, WE
HAVE SOME OF THE BEST STATISTICS
DEPARTMENTS IN THE WORLD
PROFESSORS, STUDENTS WHO ARE,
YOU KNOW, ENGAGED IN LOTS OF
PROJECTS IN THEIR MAJOR. TO
UNDERSTAND STATISTICS AND TO DO
SURVEYS. AND IT HAS SURPRISED ME
THAT AND IN OUR GREAT UNIVERSITY
SYSTEM AND WONDERFUL CAMPUSES
WITH GREAT EXPERTISE THAT THIS
GAP THIS THIS BLIND SPOT STILL
REMAINS. ABOUT WHY STUDENTS DROP
OUT. AND WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT
DATA AND BEING ABLE TO USE THAT
DATA, WHETHER IT'S ABOUT HOUSING
OR FOOD INSECURE, I MEAN, BUT
LET'S ACTUALLY NO, IT SEEMS LIKE
WE HAVE THAT CAPABILITY. LET ME
HERE. LET ME INVITE DOCTOR WOULD
WHO HAS BEEN VERY PATIENT TO
JOIN US SO EXCITED ABOUT YOUR
PRESIDENCY AND YOUR LEADERSHIP?
YOU KNOW, SACRAMENTO WHEN YOU'RE
PRESIDENT, SACRAMENTO, YOU GET
ALL THE EXTRA ASSIGNMENTS BY THE
WAY. I DON'T KNOW THAT YET, BUT
THEY WARNED YOU ABOUT THAT. THAT
THEY DID HAVE SOME ISSUE AND
THERE'S SOME PESKY LEGISLATOR.
THEY'RE GONNA SAY SEND DOCTOR
WOULD. HE'S THE CLOSEST GUY HE
DOESN'T HAVE TO PAY PER DIEM OR
ANYTHING. ANYWAY WE WELCOME YOU
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR
TESTIMONY. APPRECIATE THAT.
THANK YOU, MR CHAIRMAN, CHAIRMEN
AND THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS. THANK
YOU FOR HAVING ME HERE AND TO
TALK ABOUT OBVIOUSLY CRITICAL
TOPIC AS WE THINK ABOUT
GRADUATION RATES AND STUDENT
SUCCESS. BEFORE I BEGIN. I WANT
TO THANK YOU, SENATOR GLASER.
FOR BRINGING ATTENTION TO THIS
MATTER AND PROVIDING AN
IMPORTANT INSIGHT AND
PERSPECTIVE ON UH, A TOPIC THAT
IS NEAR AND DEAR TO MY HEART,
AND I KNOW MANY OF US IN THE
ROOM. I THINK THAT YOUR SUPPORT
HAS BEEN CRITICAL FOR US IN
TERMS OF PUSHING FORWARD HARDER
AND RECOGNIZING THAT, YES, WE
HAVE ACCOMPLISHED MUCH AS A
SYSTEM. BUT WE HAVE TO SEE THOSE
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS SIGNS THAT WE
CAN DO BETTER AND EVEN MORE FOR
OUR STUDENTS. UM, IN TERMS OF
JUST WHO I AM. I'M MY NAME IS
LUKE. AS WAS MENTIONED HE HIM
PRONOUNS I SERVICE THE PRESIDENT
OF CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY,
SACRAMENTO, SACRAMENTO STATE.
BEFORE THAT. IT WAS IN ANOTHER
INSTITUTION WITHIN OUR SYSTEM
FOR THE LAST 12 YEARS. AND I
ALSO HAPPEN TO BE AS A PROFESSOR
, A RACIAL EQUITY SCHOLAR
FOCUSED SPECIFICALLY ON STUDENT
SUCCESS AND STUDENT RETENTION
EFFORTS. AND SO I COME TO THIS
PERSPECTIVE AND IN THIS
CONVERSATION AS AN ADMINISTRATOR
WHO IS REALLY A PROFESSOR WHO
HAS LOOKED AT THESE ISSUES FOR
MY ENTIRE CAREER. AND I'M ALSO
VERY HAPPY TO BECOMING TO
SACRAMENTO STATE, WHICH IS MY
ALMA MATER. WHERE I WENT TO
SCHOOL AS A STUDENT GOT MY
BACHELOR'S DEGREE AT SACRAMENTO
STATE GOT MY MASTER'S DEGREE,
MET MY LIFE PARTNER AT
SACRAMENTO STATE, SO I WILL
WATCH THE CSU SYSTEM IN MANY
WAYS. STINGERS UP. YES STINGERS
UP. OKAY UH AND SO WHEN I LOOK
AT, UM UM WHAT'S HAPPENED? OVER
THE 10 YEAR. PRESIDENT NELSON I
HAVE TO SAY THAT IT'S BEEN A JOY
TO SEE BECAUSE AS A PERSON WHO
ATTENDED SACRAMENTO STATE, ALONG
WITH THE COLLEAGUE, HAIR THAT'S
NOT WHAT THE GRADUATION RATE
USED TO LOOK LIKE BACK WHEN I
WAS A STUDENT UNDER PRESIDENT
NELSON WENT FROM 8.5% TO 28.5%
WHICH IS THE FOUR YEAR
GRADUATION RATE. I SHOULD SAY
THAT IS A INCREDIBLE INCREASE.
AND AGAIN, I THINK THAT WE AS A
CAMPUS AND AS A COMMUNITY AND AS
ALUM ALUMNI HAVE REALLY
CELEBRATED THE FACT THAT
SACRAMENTO STATE HAS DONE SO
WELL IN INCREASING SUCCESS
RATES, AND SO I WANTED TO SHARE
WITH YOU SOME NUMBERS AS TO WHAT
THAT LOOKS LIKE. THESE ARE FOUR
YEAR GRADUATION RATES. AND FOR
MANY OF OUR COHORTS, THEIR
GRADUATION RATES HAVE TRIPLED.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, ARE LATIN X
GRADUATION RATE WAS 8.6% IT'S
NOW 27.8. FOR OUR API POPULATION
. IT WAS 5.5% IS NOW 27.1. FOR
AFRICAN AMERICAN POPULATION 4.3%
TO NOW, 20.1% AND FOR OUR NATIVE
POPULATION FROM 12.5% TO 33.3.
AND UM, DESPITE THIS FACT, WHEN
WE LOOK AT THE THIS DATA,
OBVIOUSLY THE OTHER SIDE OF HIS
IS THE STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT
GRADUATING. AND WITHIN A FOUR
YEAR TIME FRAME OR SIX YEAR TIME
FRAME, AND I TAKE THAT AS A
SERIOUS CONSIDERATION BECAUSE
WHEN A STUDENT DOES NOT GRADUATE
FROM ONE OF OUR INSTITUTIONS
THAT IS AN IMPACT ON THEM.
PERSONALLY, IT'S AN IMPACT ON
THEIR FAMILY ON THEIR COMMUNITY.
UM, IT'S AN IMPACT ON HOW PEOPLE
WITHIN THEIR CIRCLE PERCEIVE THE
VALUE OF PURSUING A COLLEGIATE
EDUCATION IN COMPARISON TO ALL
THE OTHER THINGS THAT THEY COULD
BE DOING. AND IT'S ALSO IMPACT
ON ON DEBT, RIGHT BECAUSE
FEDERAL LOAN DEBT CANNOT, UM, BE
DISCHARGED, AND IF YOU DON'T
GRADUATE, THERE'S NOT THE SAME
KIND OF COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS
FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL. ALSO LOOK
AT THE DATA AND RECOGNIZE THAT
WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR MEN
OF COLOR THAT THAT'S WHERE SOME
OF THE MOST PERSISTENT EQUITY
GAPS REMAIN. AND SO WE HAVE. FOR
EXAMPLE, I MENTIONED A 27.8%
GRADUATION GRADUATION RATE FOR
OUR LATIN X COMMUNITY. BUT FOR
OUR LATIN X MALES, LATINO MALES,
IT'S ONLY 17.1. FOR OUR API
POPULATION. I MENTIONED IT WAS
27.1% BUT IF WE LOOK AT
SOUTHEAST ASIAN MALES AMONG
CAMBODIAN, LAOTIAN VIETNAMESE
IT'S ONLY 15.3. FOR AFRICAN
AMERICAN POPULATION. AGAIN,
20.1% BUT FOR OUR MALES, IT'S
14.2. I COULD GO FURTHER. BUT I
THINK THAT THE POINT HAS BEEN
PAINTED THAT THESE ARE AREAS
THAT WE HAVE MORE WORK TO BE
DONE. UH THAT MEANS SAID
SACRAMENTO STATE HAS BEEN ON AN
EIGHT YEAR CULTURE CHANGE AND
AGAIN I'M VERY PROUD TO SEE WHAT
THAT PROGRESS HAS LOOKED LIKE.
UM WE MADE CONSIDERABLE PROGRESS
AND A LOT OF THIS HAS BEEN
ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH OUR
FINISHING FOUR AND THROUGH INTO
CAMPAIGN. WHICH IS AN EFFORT TO
ENGAGE STUDENTS AND TAKING A
FULL COURSE LOAD. AND TO CREATE
A MINDSET OF STAYING ON TRACK
FROM THE VERY FIRST DAY THEY
ENTER CAMPUS, AND THERE'S A
NUMBER OF THINGS THAT WE DO THAT
HELP PROMOTE THAT THAT IS
ALIGNED WITH WITH YOUR WORK AS
WELL. FIRST WE HAVE THEM TAKE A
PLEDGE. UM, TO TAKE A FULL LOAD.
AND THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE
KNOW THAT STUDENTS HAVING AN
AWARENESS OF WHAT THEY SHOULD BE
TAKING IN TERMS OF PROGRESS
TOWARDS AGREE IS IMPORTANT. BUT
IT'S ALSO A PUBLIC COMMITMENT
THAT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT I'M
COMMITTING TWO BECAUSE I
RECOGNIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF IT.
SO IT'S THE COMBINATION OF THOSE
TWO FACTORS. AND NOW 65% OF OUR
STUDENTS TAKE 15 UNITS THAT'S UP
FROM 25% SO PRETTY SIGNIFICANT
INCREASE THERE AND THIS MOST
RECENT COHORT 80% OF THE
STUDENTS HAVE TAKEN THE PLEDGE.
AND SO AGAIN, WE SEE THAT AS
PART OF OUR FORMULA. THE NEXT
PART OF OUR FORMULA IS COURSE
AVAILABILITY BECAUSE WE CAN, UM
IT'S IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS BE
ABLE TO HAVE THE CLASSES THAT
THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO. BE
SUCCESSFUL IN COLLEGE. AND SO,
UM, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THIS
IN TERMS OF OUR BOTTLENECK
CLASSES IN TERMS OF CREATING
MORE SECTIONS AND WE'VE CREATED
OVER 1600 MORE SECTIONS AS PART
OF THIS EFFORT. BUT CONNECTED.
OF COURSE AVAILABILITY IS ALSO
THE CORE STAFFING BECAUSE YOU
CAN'T TEACH CLASSES UNLESS YOU
HAVE THE FACULTY THERE TO DO
THAT. AND SO THAT'S BEEN PART OF
HOW WE, UM, WE'VE LOOKED AT
THIS. AND REALITY WHEN YOU WHEN
YOU THINK ABOUT JUST THOSE TWO
THINGS THE COURSE AVAILABILITY
IN CORE STAFFING. IT HELPS TO
INTERNALIZE THE RESPONSIBILITY
OF STUDENT SUCCESS RATHER THAN
LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW AT THE
WINDOW, I SHOULD SAY INTO A
STUDENT'S FAMILY, THEIR LIFE AND
THEIR CAREER AND BLAMING THEM IS
LOOKING INTO THE MIRROR TO
RECOGNIZE THAT, REALLY, WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT SYSTEMS. AND
THERE'S A QUOTE FROM W. A
REDEEMING AND PAPA TOLD IN THE
OFTENTIMES USE. IT SAYS THAT
EVERY SYSTEM IS PERFECTLY
DESIGNED TO ACHIEVE THE RESULTS
THAT IT GETS. AND SO IF WE'RE
THINKING ABOUT THIS FROM A
STANDPOINT OF A SYSTEM THAT HAD
, OF COURSE, AVAILABILITY HAD
NOTHING TO DO WITH STUDENTS.
THEY HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH
US AS A SYSTEM, WHETHER OR NOT
WE ARE MAKING THE RIGHT PLANS
AND THE RIGHT PREPARATION FOR
THE STUDENTS THAT WE SERVE, AND
I'M PROUD THAT SACRAMENTO STATE
IS LEADING THE WAY THERE. THE
OTHER THING THAT I WOULD MENTION
IS OUR SUMMER ENROLLMENT. UM
PROGRAMS. WE HAVE TWO OF THEM.
ONE IS THE PROVOST GRANT
PROGRAM, AND THEN ONE IS THE
FINISH LINE GRANTS, AND THERE'S
A VERY SMALL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
THEM. BUT ESSENTIALLY, WHAT THEY
DO IS THEY REALLY MAKE SURE THAT
STUDENTS ARE TAKING A FULL
COURSE LOAD. SO YOU KNOW, LET'S
SAY THAT YOU'RE TAKING 12 UNITS
INVOLVED AND 12 UNITS IN SPRING.
THEN WE CAN COMPLEMENT THAT WITH
SIX UNITS IN SUMMER. SO NOW
WE'VE HAD A 15 TOTAL UNITS
ACROSS EACH RELATIVE SEMESTER.
FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE. I THINK
IT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE WHEN
WE'RE THINKING ABOUT A STUDENT
WHO OFTEN WILL ATTEND SOME OF
OUR CALIFORNIA STATE
UNIVERSITIES, THEY MAY BE FIRST
GENERATION LIKE MYSELF. THERE
MAY BE A LOWER INCOME STUDENTS
LIKE MYSELF MAY STRUGGLE HELP
STRUGGLE WITH FOOD, INSECURITY,
HOUSING AND SECURITY,
TRANSPORTATION CONCERNS,
EMPLOYMENT BARRIERS AND A LOT OF
THE OTHER FACTORS THAT WE KNOW
DIRECTLY IMPACT STUDENT SUCCESS.
SO A PROGRAM LIKE THIS THAT
CREATES AN ADDITIONAL
OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO GET
UP TO SPEED AND TAKE THAT FULL
LOAD IS ONE THAT CAN HELP ENSURE
THAT WE HAVE MORE STUDENTS
ACROSS THE FINISH LINE, AND WE
PROVIDE THEM WITH $1700 AS PART
OF BEING ABLE TO DO THAT PROGRAM
THAT DIRECTLY GOES TO THEIR
SUCCESS, AND WE AWARDED OVER $6
MILLION IN DOING SO. AND THE
LAST POINT THAT I WOULD MAKE
RIGHT NOW BEFORE WE OPEN UP FOR
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, OF
COURSE, IS OUR HORNET LAUNCH,
WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY WE OUGHT TO
ENROLL STUDENTS IN THEIR FIRST
SEMESTER. WE KNOW THE CLASSES
THAT THEY NEED TO TAKE, AND WE
KNOW THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT
WHEN THEY SHOW UP THE
ORIENTATION THAT THEY HAVE AN
IDEA OF WHAT THEIR SCHEDULE IS
GOING TO BE SO THEY CAN START
MAKING PLANS FOR WORK PLANS FOR
HOW THEY'RE GOING TO SPEND THEIR
TIME PLANS FOR THEIR ENGAGEMENT
ON CAMPUS, WHICH WE KNOW IS THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE STUDENTS,
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT. SO
WE'VE HIRED THREE DEDICATED
COURSE SCHEDULERS WHO ARE
HELPING TO DO THIS, AND OUR PLAN
IS TO EXPAND IT BEYOND THE FIRST
SEMESTER TO GO TO NOT ONLY THE
FIRST YEAR BUT ACTUALLY THE
FIRST TWO YEARS OF SCHOOL. AND
WE'VE SEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT
IMPACTS IN TERMS OF WHAT THAT'S
HAD FOR OUR STUDENTS AND LOOKING
FORWARD TO SEEING AS WE EXPAND
THAT PROGRAM, WHAT IT WILL DO TO
ENSURE THAT ALL OUR STUDENTS
HAVE THE RIGHT CLASSES AT THE
RIGHT TIME WITH THE RIGHT
SUPPORT THAT THEY NEED TO
SUCCEED AT SACRAMENTO STATE.
WELL, DOCTOR WITH THAT. THANK
YOU FOR YOUR TESTIMONY, AND I
I'M GOING TO BE SURE TO GET
SENATOR LAIRD, WHO I KNOW HAD TO
STEP OUT TO HERE. THE SPECIFICS
THAT YOU PROVIDED BECAUSE THAT'S
EXACTLY WHAT I LOVE TO HEAR. $6
MILLION OF PEOPLE SAID WE GAVE
SACRAMENTO STATE $6 MILLION. YOU
CAN SAY HEY, WE GIVE YOU KNOW SO
MANY THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS $1700
TO ACTUALLY GET TO THEIR COURSE
LOAD TO STAY ON TRACK. THAT'S A
VERY SPECIFIC RESULTS OF THAT
MONEY, AND I LOVE TO HEAR THAT
AND IT'S SO IT'S MONEY WELL
SPENT, UM, THAT 1600 COURSE
SECTIONS DIDN'T HAPPEN FOR FREE.
AND I KNOW PRESIDENT NELSON WAS
STRESSING BECAUSE HE WAS PULLING
MONEY FROM THIS OR THAT TO DO
THOSE THINGS, AND WAS HE GOING
TO GET THE REIMBURSEMENT FOR IT?
UM BUT IT SHOWED REAL LEADERSHIP
AND IT'S IT SHOWS UP IN YOUR
RESULTS, AND I LOVE THE
BREAKDOWN THAT YOU PROVIDED AS
WELL IN TERMS OF LATIN X AND KPI
AND AFRICAN AMERICAN AND NOT
JUST LOOKING AT IT. BROADLY BUT
BREAKING IT DOWN BECAUSE THAT'S
EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT TO HEAR.
AND HE AND SEE AND I THINK
THAT'S WHY SACRAMENTO STATE HAS
REALLY BEEN A LEADER IN THIS
SPACE, AND I'M NOT ASHAMED TO
SAY THAT. IF THIS LEGISLATION
GOES THROUGH, AND WE CHANGED,
THE CAL PROMISED TO FINISH IN
FOUR AND I'M THINKING ABOUT THE
LEADERSHIP OF SACRAMENTO STATE
OF LEADING WITH THAT. CAPTURING
THAT THAT MESSAGE TO STUDENTS
RIGHT FROM THE START THE FACT
THAT 80% DO THE PLEDGE 65% TAKE
15 UNITS FOR MORE. IT'S SHOWING
THAT THERE'S NO EXCUSES. NO
EXCUSES ABOUT SOMEHOW OUR KIDS
ARE DIFFERENT. IT CAN'T DO IT.
YOU'RE PROVING THAT'S NOT THE
CASE, AND WE'RE SEEING THE
RESULTS AND IT'S VERY
IMPRESSIVE. THANK YOU. QUESTIONS
SENATOR NEWMAN. YEAH, LET ME ASK
YOU ONE QUICK QUESTION AND
AGAIN. THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR
PARTICIPATION, PARTICIPATION,
AND I WILL SAY THAT I LIKE
VIRTUALLY EVERY MEMBER HERE, THE
BENEFICIARY OF ALL THE TOWN THAT
COMES IN SHOCK MENTAL STATE, AND
I THINK I'VE MULTIPLE MEMBERS OF
MY STAFF AND CURRENT FELLOW
ALWAYS IMPRESSED AT HOW WELL
EQUIPPED THEY ARE WHEN I COME
INTO THIS BUILDING. ESPECIALLY I
WANT I WANT YOUR SORT OF ABOUT
DECLINING ENROLLMENT, RIGHT?
IT'S SORT OF AN ISSUE THAT SURE
FLOATS ABOVE ALL THIS AND YOU
KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT
DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS ACROSS THE
STATE AROUND ENROLLMENT DECLINE
. HOW HOW WILL DECLINE IN
ENROLLMENT? EITHER ACROSS THE
BORDER IS IT REALLY AFFECTS YOUR
CAMPUSES IMPACT YOUR APPROACH TO
THE GI 2025 GOALS. THAT THANK
YOU SO MUCH. SENATOR NEWMAN FOR
BRINGING THAT RAISING THAT
QUESTION. THAT IS AN IMPORTANT
QUESTION, PARTICULARLY FOR THE
CSU. UM THEIR NATIONAL NATIONAL
CONSIDERATIONS AROUND INCLINED
ENROLLMENT CHANGES. WE HAVE THE
DEMOGRAPHIC UM, SHIFTS THAT WE
KNOW ARE COMING. WE HAVE EVEN
WITHIN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.
WE HAVE CHANGES IN THE
DEMOGRAPHICS AND NUMBERS OF
STUDENTS WHO ARE IN THE WHAT WE
WOULD CALL TRADITIONAL COLLEGE
AGE PIPELINE. RIGHT SO THAT IS A
CONSIDERATION THAT IS GOING TO
PERSIST WITH US FOR A WHILE.
WE'RE ALREADY SEEING EFFECTS.
MANY OF THEM PROBABLY
EXACERBATED BY THE PANDEMIC.
SHIFTS AND STUDENT BEHAVIOR
DECISIONS MADE FOR THEIR
FAMILIES. UM YOU KNOW, TO GO TO
WORK OR TO GO TO SCHOOL SO MUCH
OF THAT ROLLS UP. AND WHAT WE'RE
SEEING IN TERMS OF ENROLLMENT
CHANGES. UM IN ADDITION TO THOSE
DECISIONS THAT STUDENTS ARE
MAKING ABOUT THEIR ENROLLMENT.
SOME OF THEIR THEIR CHALLENGES
REALLY SPILLED OVER INTO THEIR
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AS WELL. WE
BELIEVE THAT WE'VE SEEN A
DECLINE AND SOME, UH, GPS AMONG
STUDENTS OVER THAT SAME FALL
2019 TO FALL 2021 TRAJECTORY
THAT GO ALONG WITH THE CHANGES
THAT WE SEE IN RETENTION. SO
THERE ARE, UM SHIFTS THAT HAVE
BEEN EXACERBATED BY CHANGES IN
BEHAVIOR BROUGHT ABOUT DUE TO
TRYING TO NAVIGATE. UH POST
COVID REALITY. WE DO THINK THAT
THERE WILL BE SOME SOME ISSUES.
ONE OF THE REALITIES. AS IT
RELATES TO ENROLLMENT
MANAGEMENT. IS RETENTION. IS A
SIGNIFICANT. AN IMPORTANT
STRATEGY AND HELPING CAMPUSES
MAINTAINED THEIR ENROLLMENTS.
AND CONTINUE THE PROMISES THAT
WE MAKE TO OUR STUDENTS. IT'S
MUCH MORE BENEFICIAL FOR
STUDENTS. THEIR FAMILIES. IF WE
DEVELOP RETENTION STRATEGIES AND
MAKE SURE WE CAN KEEP STUDENTS,
THEN TRYING TO CHURN AND RECRUIT
NEW STUDENTS REPLACE STUDENTS
THAT MAY BE LOST THROUGH
RETENTION AND TRY TO BACKFILL
THOSE NUMBERS WITH NEW STUDENTS.
BECAUSE WE'RE AGAIN WE'RE FACING
A SHIFT WITH A TIME WHERE THE
POOL OF STUDENTS JUST ISN'T
GOING TO BE THE SAME SO CAMPUSES
I THINK ARE REALIZING A SHIFT IN
THE IMPORTANT EVEN MORE SO AND
RETENTION AND UTILIZING
STRATEGIES LIKE WE'VE TALKED
ABOUT, AND I IF YOU HAVE
QUESTIONS ABOUT OTHER SPECIFIC
STRATEGIES. I WANTED TO GO
THROUGH MY INTRODUCTION, BUT
WE'VE GOT INFORMATION THAT WE
CAN SHARE SPECIFICALLY AS WELL.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED. BUT ALL OF
THESE THINGS ARE ROLLING UP TO
HELP CAMPUSES DEPLOY STRATEGIES
TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS
ARE SUCCESSFUL THAT WE CAN
RETAIN THEM. WE KNOW THAT WE USE
INFORMATION IN STRATEGIC WAYS SO
THAT WE KNOW WHO'S AH, IN THE
MOST NEED FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF
YOU KNOW, SURVEILLANCE FOR LACK
OF BETTER TERM AND BE ABLE TO
MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN KEEP OUR
STUDENTS AND HELP THEM CONTINUE
THEIR EDUCATIONAL GOALS.
APPRECIATE THAT, DOCTOR. WHAT IF
YOU WOULDN'T MIND? YES UH, IN
TERMS OF ENROLLMENT IS CERTAINLY
A PRESSING ISSUE FOR THE ENTIRE
STATE AND REALLY ENTIRE NATION.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE DEMOGRAPHICS
IN TERMS OF WHAT'S TAKING PLACE.
YEAH, I'M WE'RE FORTUNATE IN
SACRAMENTO STATE, WHERE ONE OF
FOUR INSTITUTIONS IN THE SENATE
SYSTEM THAT MET OUR ENROLLMENT
TARGETS, AND SO WE'RE PROUD OF
THAT, BUT WE'RE ALSO LOOKING
FORWARD TO THE FUTURE. AND SO
WE'VE RECENTLY, UM, HAD OUR
ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT TEAM AND
WHOLE AREA BECOME ITS ITS OWN
SEPARATE AREA IN DIVISION RATHER
THAN BEING KIND OF A SUBSET OF
ANOTHER AREA SO WE CAN FOCUS
PRIMARILY ON HOW WE ARE ENSURING
THAT WE'RE SERVING EVERY SINGLE
INDIVIDUAL THAT NEEDS AND
DESERVES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CAL
STATE EDUCATION. UM SO PART OF
HOW I THINK ABOUT THE FORMULA
FOR THIS IS REALLY, UM FROM MY
OWN BACKGROUND AND WORKING
EXTENSIVELY WITH COMMUNITY
COLLEGES. COMMUNITY COLLEGES ARE
SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT AND
EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONS IN
SERVING OUR MOST MINORITIES,
STUDENTS. AND SO I THINK THAT
THERE'S FURTHER WAYS THAT WE CAN
CONTINUE PARTNERING WITH OUR
COMMUNITY COLLEGES BECAUSE THEY
ARE THE PRIMARY PATHWAY INTO
POST SECONDARY EDUCATION FOR OUR
MOST MINORITIES, STUDENTS. AND
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I KNOW
THAT WE'LL BE DOING AS PART OF
OUR EFFORT IS CONTINUING AND
EXPANDING OUR PARTNERSHIPS TO
CREATE SEAMLESS PATHWAYS FOR
STUDENTS WHO ARE COMING FROM
COMMUNITY COLLEGES. I'M ALSO
ATTENTIVE TO THE FACT THAT OUR
SYSTEM RELEASED THE BLACK
STUDENT SUCCESS TASK FORCE
REPORT. I WAS PROUD TO BE A
MEMBER OF THAT TEAM THAT WORKED
ON THAT REPORT. AND I THINK ONE
OF THE THINGS THAT WE CONTINUE
TO HEAR FROM INDIVIDUALS, AS WE
SPOKE TO DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS
IS JUST THE PERCEPTION OF BOTH,
UM WHAT IT MEANS TO GO INTO A
CSU AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE
RETAINED WITHIN THE CSU FROM OUR
BLACK STUDENT COMMUNITY. AND SO
, UM, AS MY COLLEAGUE SAID, I
THINK PART OF OUR ENROLLMENT
CALCULUS IS ALSO THINKING ABOUT
WHAT YOU WOULD NEED TO RETAIN
THE STUDENTS THAT YOU HAVE. SO
IF YOU HAVE IT'S EXAMPLE THAT
GAVE A 14.5% GRADUATION RATE IN
FOUR YEARS FOR YOUR FOR YOUR
BLACK MALE STUDENTS THAT SENDS A
MESSAGE TO THE COMMUNITY. BUT
THAT ALSO SENDS A MESSAGE TO
THAT CURRENT STUDENT ABOUT OR IS
INDICATIVE OF MESSAGE HAS BEEN
SAID THAT CURRENT STUDENT ABOUT
WHETHER OR NOT THERE AN
ENVIRONMENT THAT CARES ABOUT
THEM THAT SUPPORTS THEM THAT
BELIEVES IN THEM. AND I THINK
THAT THERE'S MORE WORK THAT THAT
WE CAN CONTINUE TO DO AROUND
THAT, UM, UM MICHELLE FROM THE
CAMPAIGN, I SHOULD MENTION THEM.
A BOARD MEMBER FOR THE CAMPAIGN
SAID THAT NEVER. SOMETIMES WE
HAVE EDUCATORS WHO NEVER EVEN
BELIEVE THAT THEY CAN PASS A
CLASS. OR THAT THEY AND THEY
THEY WON'T UM, I'VE ALWAYS
FIRMLY BELIEVED IN MY WORK AS A
AS EDUCATOR THAT NO ONE HAS EVER
RISEN TO LOW EXPECTATIONS. AND
SO IT'S ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL THAT
WE ARE BETTER PREPARING OUR
EDUCATORS TO BE ABLE TO TEACH
STUDENTS, MANY OF WHOM THEY WERE
NEVER TRAINED TO TEACH. IF YOU
THINK ABOUT YOUR AVERAGE FACULTY
MEMBER IN ANY INSTITUTION ACROSS
THE COUNTRY. LET'S SAY IN
BIOLOGY BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN
BIOLOGY, WORKED IN INDUSTRY FOR
SEVERAL YEARS. MASTERS DEGREE
PHD GOES STRAIGHT INTO THE
CLASSROOM. WITH NO TRAINING ON
HOW TO TEACH SO WHAT DO THEY DO?
THEY TRY TO THINK OF OKAY. WHAT
WAS THE GOOD PROFESSOR? I HAD
WITH SOME GOOD EXAMPLES THAT I
CAN USE. AND THEN USUALLY WHAT
THEY DO IS THEY TEACH HOW THEY
WERE TAUGHT. BUT HOW THEY ARE
TAUGHT IS TYPICALLY NOT HOW OUR
STUDENTS LEARN, PARTICULARLY
STUDENTS OF COLOR, THE EXAMPLES
THAT THEY'RE GOING TO USE THE
CURRICULUM THEY'RE GOING TO USE.
THE APPROACH TO TEACHING IS ONE
THAT IS OFTENTIMES NOT
EMBLEMATIC OF THE STUDENTS THAT
THEY SERVE. AND SO I THINK PART
OF THE FORMULATION OF HOW WE
CONTINUE TO RETAIN STUDENTS,
WHICH IS PART OF THIS ENROLLMENT
ENROLLMENT CALCULUS AGAIN IS BY
BETTER PREPARING AND BETTER
EQUIPPING THE EDUCATORS THAT WE
HAVE WITHIN OUR INSTITUTION,
MANY OF WHOM CARE ABOUT
STUDENTS. THEY CARE ABOUT THEIR
SUCCESS THERE THERE FOR THE
RIGHT REASONS. BUT SOME OF THEM
WERE ASKING THEM TO DO THINGS
THAT THEY'VE NEVER BEEN TRAINED
TO DO BEFORE, AND I THINK A LOT
OF OUR INSTITUTIONS ARE LEANING
MORE INTO THAT AND RECOGNIZING
THAT, HEY, THAT'S THAT'S HOW WE
SERVE OUR STUDENTS. THAT'S HOW
WE SERVE OUR QUOTE UNQUOTE
CUSTOMER BASE, RIGHT IF THEY IF
YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THAT FROM
BECAUSE YOU MEANT TO USE THE
BUSINESS METAPHOR EARLIER. THE
LAST THING I'D SAY IS THINKING
ABOUT THIS FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF
ADULT LEARNERS. WE HAVE ADULT
LEARNERS WHO HAVE WENT TO OUR
INSTITUTIONS HAVE NOT FINISHED
HAVE NOT GRADUATED. BUT HOW
CREDITS THAT THEY'VE EARNED
TOWARDS AGREE WE HAVE A PROGRAM
CALLED HORNET AS PAIN STARTED BY
ONE OF OUR VICE PRESIDENTS THAT
HELPS TO BRING THOSE INDIVIDUALS
BACK INTO OUR COMMUNITY AND
HELPS THEM TO CONTINUE ALONG
THAT PROGRESS TOWARDS THE
DEGREE. I THINK THAT THOSE KIND
OF THINGS WE HAVE TO DO THAT
SEND THE MESSAGE TO THE
COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE SERIOUS
ABOUT EDUCATION, AND WE'RE
SERIOUS ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT
EVERY SINGLE STUDENT HAS THE
OPPORTUNITY TO WALK ACROSS THE
STAGE. ONE LAST QUESTION IN
RESTRICTING EVERYBODY'S TIME GOT
ME TO THINKING THERE'S A IN
ADDITION KIND OF SLOWING SOCIAL
MOBILITY, WHICH IS A REAL
PROBLEM THAT WE'VE OBSERVED IN
THE LAST 10 YEARS IN THE US
WE'RE ALSO SEEING DECLINES IN
GEOGRAPHIC MOVE GUARDIAN, RIGHT
, SO THAT INTERSECTS WITH YOUR
DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGES RIGHT IF
YOU'RE LIMITED TO RECRUITING
SIMPLY FROM YOUR AREA, YOU'RE
GOING TO WIND UP JUST RECRUITING
FROM THE SAME COMMUNITY COLLEGES
ARE FACING THE SAME DEMOGRAPHIC
AND ENROLLMENT CHALLENGES SO,
BUT IT ALSO COMES FROM MAGNET IF
THE 23 SCHOOLS ARE COMPETING
WITH EACH OTHER FOR STUDENTS.
HOW ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT?
RECRUITING PARTICULARLY OUTSIDE
OF KIND OF THAT, YOU KNOW THAT
SORT OF LOCAL NEXUS TO MAKE SURE
THAT YOU HAVE BOTH THE BEST
STUDENT BODY BUT ALSO THE MOST
DIVERSE. I THINK I THAT THAT IS
AN IMPORTANT OBSERVATION. UM
BECAUSE OF OUR CALIFORNIA MASTER
PLAN AND THE COMMITMENT THAT WE
MAKE TO THE SERVICE OF OUR
CITIZENS, RIGHT? OUR OUR
PLANNING FOR A VERY LONG TIME
HAS FOCUSED ON SERVING. A
PARTICULAR TRIPARTITE POPULATION
OF INDIVIDUALS HERE IN THE STATE
OF CALIFORNIA. AS THE. MOVEMENT
OF BUSINESS. HAS EXTENDED BEYOND
OUR STATE BEYOND OUR OUR NATION
. EVEN I THINK THIS IS AN
OPPORTUNITY TO THINK ABOUT. WHAT
DOES THE STUDENT LOOK LIKE AND
IS THERE A, UM A. A RECIPE OR A
FORMULA THAT WE THAT WE ARE
BEHOLDEN TO, OR IS THERE AN
OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO THINK
ABOUT STUDENTS AND RECRUITMENT
FROM A REGIONAL STANDPOINT,
RIGHT STUDENTS WHO WERE MAYBE
RIGHT ACROSS OUR BORDER IN
SURROUNDING STATES, WHERE THE
PROPOSITION OF MOVING ACROSS THE
COUNTRY MOVING INTO DIFFERENT UM
UM UH, GEOGRAPHIC, UH,
CHALLENGES AND NEW TYPES OF IN
IN IN ENVIRONMENTS. WHAT ABOUT
STUDENTS WHO ARE FROM NEVADA
FROM UTAH FROM THE WESTERN
STATES ARE THERE WAYS THAT WE
CAN ENGAGE IN IN MORE REGIONAL
RECRUITMENT. I THINK THAT IS
GOING TO BE A WAY THAT WE CAN
THINK ABOUT HOW TO DIVERSIFY.
OUR STUDENT BODY, HOW TO OPEN UP
THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT WE
PROVIDE HERE IN THE CSU TO
EDUCATE MORE INDIVIDUALS. AND
REALLY RECRUIT AND THINK ABOUT A
NEW WAYS OF PROVIDING THE KIND
OF EDUCATION THAT WE PROVIDE TO
EVEN MORE INDIVIDUALS BEYOND THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA. YEAH I
WOULD SAY. IN ADDITION TO THAT,
AT LEAST, UM, FROM OUR
PERSPECTIVE AT SACRAMENTO STATE.
PART OF THE OF THE FORMULATION
AND A STUDENT'S MIND IS. IS THIS
AN INSTITUTION THAT I'M GOING TO
HAVE THE BEST POSSIBLE
EXPERIENCE THAT SO? YES THERE IS
GEOGRAPHIC. UM UM, AREAS THAT
EACH OF OUR INSTITUTIONS SERVE.
BUT THEN, OF COURSE, NO MATTER
WHERE YOU'RE AT IN THE STATE IF
THERE IS AN INSTITUTION THAT
SERVES AS A MAGNET, PEOPLE WANT
TO GO TO THAT PLACE BECAUSE OF
SOMETHING THEY HAVE THEIR THAT'S
SPECIAL. AND EARLIER YOU SAID
SOMETHING, SENATOR NEWMAN THAT
WAS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT TO ME
PERSONALLY, AND THAT WAS AROUND
STUDENT HOUSING. AND IF WE THINK
ABOUT HOUSING WITHIN OUR SYSTEM
, WE HAVE SOME CAMPUSES THAT
HOUSE NEARLY 9000 STUDENTS, AND
WE HAVE SOME CAMPUSES IN OUR
SYSTEM THAT THAT COULDN'T
COULDN'T COME EVEN CLOSE TO
THAT. AND IF YOU'RE A FIRST
GENERATION STUDENTS, LOW INCOME
STUDENT MAYBE YOU'RE A STUDENT
WHO HAS DEPENDENCE DOESN'T HAVE
DEPENDENCE. YOU STRUGGLE WITH
FOOD, INSECURITY, HOUSING AND
SECURITY, UH, KNOWING THAT YOU
HAVE A PLACE TO LAY YOUR HEAD AT
NIGHT. AND YOU HAVE A MEAL
THAT'S COMING TO YOU IS
ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL TO BE ABLE
TO BE IN AN ENVIRONMENT AND SO
AS STUDENTS, I THINK THE LAW
STUDENTS LOOK AT FACTORS LIKE
THAT. TO SEE IS THIS WITHIN ALL
THE OPTIONS WITHIN THE
GEOGRAPHIC REGION OUTSIDE THE
GEOGRAPHIC AGREEMENT REGION
ACROSS THE STATE ACROSS THE
COUNTRY. IS THAT A PLACE THAT I
WANT TO BE I BRING THAT UP
BECAUSE AS A STUDENT WHO WAS A
SAC STATE. I WAS IN PART OF MY
EXPERIENCE THERE. I UM I WAS A
STUDENT AS A YOUNG STUDENT WHO
STRUGGLE WITH FOOD INSECURITY
STRUGGLE WITH HOUSING AND
SECURITY. I LIVED IN MY CAR. I
LIVED IN MY BROTHER'S GARAGE.
I'VE BEEN IDENTICAL TWIN
BROTHER, WHO WAS STUDENT BODY
PRESIDENT AND LIVING IN HIS
OFFICE BECAUSE HE WAS HOMELESS.
RIGHT AND I LOOK AT SACRAMENTO
STATE, AND CERTAINLY WE BUILT UP
MORE RESIDENTS OPPORTUNITIES FOR
STUDENTS. BUT WE CAN HOUSE ABOUT
2100 ON OUR ON OUR STATESIDE.
SOME ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
THROUGH A P THREE. BUT WE'RE NOT
NOT COMING ANYWHERE CLOSE TO
WHERE WE NEED TO BE. AND THEN I
LOOKED IN IT AT OUR DATA ON THIS
. AND IF WE LOOK AT COHORTS THAT
CAME BEFORE THE PANDEMIC,
BECAUSE AFTER THE PANDEMIC OR
DOING THE PANDEMIC, OBVIOUSLY,
EVERYTHING CHANGED. WE HAVE
ABOUT 8% HIGHER FOR YOUR
GRADUATION RATE FOR THOSE
STUDENTS, AND WE'VE DONE SOME
DATA LOOKING AT THIS, USING
PURPOSES, SCORE MATCHING WHERE
WE ALSO MATCH OUR STUDENTS BASED
UPON YOU KNOW, CHARACTERISTICS
AND BACKGROUNDS WE WANT TO
CONTROL FOR AND WE STILL SEE
SIZEABLE DIFFERENCES FOR OUR
ASIAN POPULATION. IT'S UH, 8.6%
HIGHER FOR YOUR GRADUATION RATE.
BLACK POPULATION. 8% HIGHER
LATICS POPULATION 7.3% HIGHER
OUR MULTI ETHNIC POPULATION
ABOUT 12% HIGHER AND WHEN WE
TALK ABOUT MULTI ETHNIC
POPULATION, OUR CAMPUSES HEAVY
REPRESENTATION OF BOTH NATIVE
AND BLACK STUDENTS WITHIN THAT,
AND SO FOR US, THAT'S ABSOLUTELY
KEY, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THAT
HAS A DIRECT IMPACT ON WHETHER
OR NOT YOU CAN JUST BE FOCUSED
IN THE CLASSROOM. YOU DON'T KNOW
WHERE YOU'RE GOING TO SLEEP IF
YOU'RE PHYSICALLY HUNGRY. YOU'RE
NOT IN THE BEST POSSIBLE
SITUATION TO BE ABLE TO BE
SUCCESSFUL. SO FOR US, IT'S
SOMETHING THAT WE PLAN TO FOCUS
ON FOR INSTITUTION. I REALLY DO
APPRECIATE IT. ONE OF THE THINGS
I WORRY ABOUT THE MOST, UH FOR
YOUNG PEOPLE, BUT ESPECIALLY
RELATES TO COLLEGE AND COLLEGE
TREATMENT IS ALL OF THOSE
STUDENTS WHO DON'T PURSUE THEIR
DREAMS, AND IT'S RARELY BASED ON
ABILITY. IT'S BASED ON THEIR
SENSE OF THE POSSIBLE AND THAT
TO ME IS ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT PROBLEMS WE NEED TO
SOLVE IS TO MAKE SURE THAT ANY
STUDENT IN THE SYSTEM AS THEY
WORK THEIR WAY THROUGH ANY OF
THE THREE LEVELS. HAS THE
ASSURANCE THAT IF THEY DO THE
WORK, THERE WILL BE THE
RESOURCES AND THE GUIDANCE AND
THE SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR THEM TO
MAKE IT AND THE PROSPECT OF NOT
HAVING THAT, I THINK, DISSUADES
A LOT OF PEOPLE A LOT OF REALLY
TALENTED PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY FROM
UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITIES,
AND WE AS A STATE LOSE OUT ON
ALL OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS BECAUSE
OF THAT, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE
THE ANSWERS AND APPRECIATE THE
WORK YOU'RE DOING. THANK YOU,
SENATOR NEWMAN, SENATOR OCHOA,
VOGUE. SO I HAVE TO SHARE
EXCITED TO HEAR YOUR POINTS
TODAY. SO ON POINT AND SO WELL
WITHIN MY SCOPE OF CONCERNED
THESE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND
WHATEVER EXPRESSING COMMITTEE,
SO THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT
TODAY. VERY EXCITED TO HEAR THAT
PERSPECTIVE. MINE IS GOING TO
COME FROM A GOING TO ADD A
DIFFERENT ANGLE TO THE
CONVERSATIONS IN THE POINTS THAT
YOU'VE MADE TODAY WITH REGARDS
TO RETAINING FIRST OF ALL HAVING
THE RECRUITMENT AND RETAINING
OUR STUDENTS, AND IT HAS TO DO,
UM CAME TO MY ATTENTION THIS
YEAR. RECENTLY SO THE STATE
BOARD OF EDUCATION JUST VOTED
UPON THE NEW, UH, NEW MATH
CURRICULUM IN THE STATE. UM AND
YOU MAY OR MAY NOT BE PREPARED
TO SPEAK ON THAT, BUT I JUST
KIND OF CURIOUS. SO IN THAT, UM
, IN THAT FINAL AH, UM. PLAN FOR
THE MATH CURRICULUM FOR THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND THEY
WERE ON JULY 7TH. THERE WAS A
LETTER SUBMITTED BY THOUSANDS OF
BOTH PROFESSORS AS WELL AS AS
PARENTS CONCERNED ABOUT UM. I
WOULD SAY THE CONTENT OF THE
CURRICULUM, THE MATH CURRICULUM
, AND I WAS JUST KIND OF CURIOUS
AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU FOLKS
HAVE ANY CONCERNS OR HAVE YOU
LOOKED INTO HOW THAT MIGHT
IMPACT IN PREPARING THE INCOMING
CLASSES FOR STEM ORIENTED MAJORS
? AND SO I JUST I KNOW THAT MAY
HAVE AN IMPACT. I DON'T THINK ME
I THINK IT WILL HAVE AN IMPACT.
ALL RIGHT. INCOMING CLASSES AS
TO WHETHER OR NOT WHAT MAJOR
SPECIALLY STEM. UM THEY WILL
HAVE BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW THAT I
KNOW I DIDN'T PURSUE ANY STEM.
CAREERS BECAUSE I WAS VERY
INSECURE ABOUT MY MATH SKILLS. I
KNEW I DIDN'T HAVE THE
PREPARATIONS AND PART OF THAT
CAME FROM MY LIFE EXPERIENCES
JUST LIKE YOURSELF IN WHICH I
MOVED, YOU KNOW, 10 11 SCHOOLS
GROWING UP AND THAT GAVE ME
MATH. UM YAPS. AND SO WHEN IT
CAME TIME TO MAJORS, ALTHOUGH I
LOVED ARCHITECTURE, ALTHOUGH I
LOVE UH, MEDICINE, I WOULD HAVE
NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT GOING IN
THAT PATH BECAUSE I KNEW. SORRY.
RECENTLY. SORRY. SORRY. SO
MOVING FORWARD. EXTREMELY
CONCERNED ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT
OUR STUDENTS IN CALIFORNIA WILL
HAVE THAT EDGE. IN HAVING THAT
CONFIDENCE IN MATH SKILLS
BECAUSE OF WHAT WE JUST VOTED IN
AND HOW THAT MIGHT BE A
DISSERVICE FOR OUR TALENT. IN
CALIFORNIA, OUR STUDENT
POPULATION WHICH IS OUR FUTURE.
HAVING THEM PURSUE THOSE CAREERS
AND RETAINING THEM HERE AND HOW
THAT WILL IMPACT OUR WORKFORCE,
WHICH IN CALIFORNIA IF YOU SPEAK
TO ANY AND IN ANY SPACE IN ANY
INDUSTRY, WE'RE NOT GRADUATING.
THE WORKFORCE NEEDED TO MEET THE
DEMANDS IN THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA. SO THAT IS A HUGE
CONCERN FOR ME, AS I AM PRIVY TO
ALL OF THESE COMMITTEES AND
HEARING FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES AS
TO WHAT WE'RE DOING IN
EDUCATION, WHAT WE'RE DOING IN
WORKFORCE AND HOW THAT HAS AN
IMPACT IN THE ECONOMIC OVERALL
WELL BEING FOR A STATE AND OUR
STUDENTS ARE GRADUATING. THE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA SO ALTHOUGH
SOME MAY THINK THAT IT'S NOT
IMPORTANT I THINK WE'LL HAVE A
SEVERE IMPACT ON. ON OUR
STUDENTS, SO JUST WOULD LOVE TO
HEAR YOUR PERSPECTIVE ON HOW
THAT'S GOING TO IMPACT OUR
STUDENTS COMING IN IN
PREPARATION. AND BE ABLE TO
RETAIN THEM IN COLLEGE AND BE
ABLE TO ACTUALLY PURSUE CAREERS
THAT ARE GOING TO BE AT THE TOP
FIELD OF DEMAND HERE IN OUR
STATE. I'LL GO FIRST. UM, I THAT
WAS THAT I FEEL YOUR CONCERN.
VERY HEARTFELT. AYE. I THINK
THIS CONVERSATION IS SO ACUTELY
NEW RIGHT THAT HIGHER EDUCATION
CAMPUSES. ARE GOING TO, UM BE
TRYING TO FIND WAYS. TO FIGURE
OUT SO IN THIS PIPELINE OF
EDUCATION. WHERE DO WE? HOW DO
WE PARTNER WITH OUR QUÊ THROUGH
12, OUR GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS. AND
DETERMINE UNPACK. WHAT THESE
WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS ARE FOR
THESE NEW STANDARDS AND USE
VARIOUS TYPES OF PREDICTIVE DATA
IF THEY PRESENT THEMSELVES IF
THAT KIND OF INFORMATION IS
AVAILABLE TO BEST DETERMINE HOW
IS THAT GOING TO IMPACT THE WAY
OUR STUDENTS ARE READY FOR IT
THROUGH THE PIPELINE FOR HIGHER
EDUCATION? UM THOSE TYPES OF
RELATIONSHIPS WORK. I CAN TELL
YOU, UM, LAST ACADEMIC YEAR AS
WE EMERGE FROM THE PANDEMIC AS
AN EXAMPLE. ONE OF THE
CONVERSATIONS ON OUR CAMPUS AND
PROBABLY IN OTHER AREAS AS WELL
WAS. WHAT ARE THE AFFECTS TWO
STUDENTS IN THE K THROUGH 12
SYSTEM FROM THIS SEVERE
DISRUPTION THAT THEY HAVE HAVE
EXPERIENCED ALL OF OUR
EDUCATIONAL. UM STRUCTURES HAVE
EXPERIENCED THOSE THOSE
DISRUPTIONS. BUT WHAT ABOUT OUR
PARTNERS WHO ARE PREPARING
STUDENTS FOR US TO RECEIVE? HOW
DO WE FIND WAYS TO PARTNER TO
BETTER UNDERSTAND THE EXAMINED
DATA TOGETHER HERE FROM THEM
UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR CONCERNS
ARE AND ALIGN OUR EFFORTS
TOWARDS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW
WE CAN BEST MITIGATE ANY KIND OF
EFFECTS THAT THAT MAY YOU KNOW,
BE PROBLEMATIC AND CHALLENGE OUR
STUDENTS. SO I WOULD SAY IT'S
GOING TO BE IMPORTANT FOR
PRESIDENT WOULD AND MYSELF AND
OTHER INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE IN
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS IN THE CSU
TO SEEK OUT OUR K THROUGH 12
PARTNERS AND FIGURE OUT WAYS
THAT WE CAN THAT THEY CAN
EDUCATE US ON ON WHAT THEY
FORESEE THE KINDS OF TRENDS AND
SHIFTS THAT THIS THIS NEW
CURRICULUM IS GOING TO BRING.
BRING ABOUT. AND HOW DOES THAT
ALIGN WITH THE WAY THAT WE
APPROACH? CURRICULUM GENERAL
EDUCATION CURRICULUM, STUNNED
BASED CURRICULUM AND IF THERE
ARE CHANGES, RIGHT IF THERE ARE
CURRICULAR MODIFICATIONS THAT
OUR CAMPUSES CAN CONSIDER TO
MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING
THE KIND OF EDUCATIONAL
EXPERIENCE THAT SEAMLESS AND
RESPONSIVE TO THESE TYPES OF
DEVELOPMENTS THAT TAKE PLACE.
BUT WE FEEL THAT AND WE WANT
NOTHING TO DO, BUT PARTNER TO
MAKE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS IN
THE MIDDLE OF ALL OF THESE
CHANGES. ARE NOT HARM. AND NOT
NOT AWARDED AND NOT DISCOURAGED.
I THINK THAT WAS A BEAUTIFUL
RESPONSE AND VERY EMBLEMATIC OF
WHAT I WOULD HAVE SAID. THE ONLY
THING I WOULD ADD TO. THAT IS
JUST THE THINKING THAT I THAT I
HAD THE PLEASURE OF LEARNING. UM
FROM BOB MOSES ON WHICH IS THAT,
UM MATHEMATICS IS OFTENTIMES
USED, UM TO INCLUDE, BUT IT'S
ALSO USED TO EXCLUDE AND IT IS
THE CIVIL RIGHTS UM, INDICATOR
OF OUR TIME. IT'S A GREAT GREAT
SUMMING UP AND I'D LOVE TO HAVE
A HEARING ON THIS ISSUE OF MATH
BECAUSE I HAVE A LOT OF STRONG
FEELINGS IN THAT SPACE TO ALONG
THE LINES OF WHAT YOU JUST SAID.
DÍAS CHALLENGE. BUT I WANT TO
THANK BOTH OF YOU FOR BUT FOR
PARTICIPATING SHARING YOUR
INSIGHTS. DOCTORS SYSTEM GUN
THANK YOU FOR TRAVELING HERE AND
FOR LONG BEACH SUCCESS AND
DOUBLING YOUR GRADUATION RATES,
PLEASE. THANK PRESIDENT CONNELLY
FOR ALLOWING US TO HAVE YOUR
PRESENCE HERE AND I'M SURE BUSY
IMPORTANT DAY AT THE BEACH. BUT
WE APPRECIATE THAT. I WILL DO SO
. AND DOCTOR WOULD THANK.
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU. YOU
STAND ON THE SHOULDERS OF GREAT
LEADERSHIP AT SEX STATED
TRIPLING OF THE RATE, BUT MORE
IMPORTANTLY, REALLY THE STATE
LEADER IN THE EQUITY GAP CLOSING
ISSUE, AND YOU'VE BEEN VERY
ARTICULATED AND EXPLAINING, EVEN
WITH THAT SUCCESS, HOW THEIR
BREAK WHEN YOU BREAK IT DOWN.
THERE'S STILL A LOT OF PLACES
THAT YOU'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON
AND I KNOW YOU'LL BE SUCCESSFUL
IN THAT SPACE AS WELL. GOOD.
THANK YOU BOTH VERY MUCH. THANK
YOU. ALL RIGHT, WE'RE GONNA COME
AND CONCLUDE OUR HEARING BY
GOING TO PUBLIC COMMENT. I
BELIEVE THAT UM SAMANTHA ALVAREZ
, VERY, UM, A HAVE BEEN ABLE TO
RECONNECT WITH US ON OUR ON OUR
TELEPHONE LINE. AND IF SHE'S
THERE, I WANT TO GIVE HER THE
FIRST SHOT TO SUM UP HER
TESTIMONY. WE'RE SO SORRY.
TECHNICAL PROBLEMS GOT IN THE
WAY, SO JUST GIVE ME ONE SECOND
THERE. UM SAMANTHA, ARE YOU
THERE? YES, I'M HERE. I'M SO
SORRY YOU HAD THESE DIFFICULTIES
WERE COMING TO THE CLOSE OF OUR
HEARING. I JUST WANTED TO GIVE
YOU A CHANCE, THOUGH, TO SUM UP
YOUR THOUGHTS BEFORE WE WENT TO
PUBLIC COMMENT HERE IN THE
HEARING ROOM. THANK YOU. YOU
KNOW, AS A STUDENT, I DEFINITELY
EXPERIENCED A LOT OF INTERNET
ISSUES AS WELL. BUT I STILL
CONTINUE TO PERSEVERE. UM JUST
WANTED TO, YOU KNOW EVERYTHING
REALLY QUICKLY BUT AGAIN, THERE
ARE TIMES A CHARM. MY NAME IS
SAMANTHA ALVAREZ CHAVARRIA. AND
I'M A STUDENT THAT NOT ONLY GOES
TO THE CALC DOMINGUEZ HILLS, BUT
I SERVED AS THE VICE PRESIDENT
OF LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS FOR THE
CAL STATE STUDENT ASSOCIATION.
I'M JUST HONORED AGAIN TO BE
HERE AND HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO
SPEAK AGAIN AND JUST GOING BACK
TO LIKE MY THOUGHTS SYSTEM HAS
HAD A STEADY INCREASE IN FOR
YOUR GRADUATION RATES OVER THE
PAST FEW YEARS, SEVERAL CAMPUSES
HAVE SHOWN REMARKABLE PROGRESS
DUE TO THEIR IMPLEMENTATION AND
THEIR INNOVATIVE MENTIONED SHIP
PROGRAMS, RESULTING IN A 10%
IMPROVEMENT IN FOR YOUR
GRADUATION RATES. OVERALL, IT IS
ENCOURAGING THE DOUBLING OF A
FOUR YEAR GRADUATION RATE SINCE
2015 AND RECOMMENDABLE RIGHTS
AND TRANSFER GRADUATION RATES.
HOWEVER IT WAS ALSO MADE
EVIDENCE THAT THERE'S STILL GAPS
AMONGST BLACK AND LATINO
STUDENTS WHEN IT COMES TO TIMELY
GRADUATION. CLOSING THOSE GAPS,
SUGAR MAY MAKE CRUCIAL MISSION
OF US AS THEY SEIZE THE DAY AND
OF THE CSU. IT WOULD TRULY
WANTED TO ACHIEVE EQUITY AND THE
COURT OF THE GI 2025. AM I
CAMPUS? THE ISSUE DOMINGA TOES
THAT HAVE BEEN PROGRESS IN THE
REPORT RELEASED BY THE CAMPAIGN
FOR COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY THEY
HAVE BEFORE YOUR GRADUATION
RATES FOR ALL FIRST TIME
STUDENTS HAS INCREASED FROM 6%
TO 20% AND SIX YEAR GRADUATION
RATE HAS INCREASED FROM 5% TO
46% SINCE 2015. IT IS EXTREMELY
UNLIKELY THAT MIGHT CAMPUS WILL
REACH SYSTEM MICHAEL BY 2025.
CLEARLY SEVERAL CAMPUSES WILL
STILL FACE CHALLENGES, AND THIS
YEAR'S YOU SHOULD STILL BE
ACTIVELY WORKING ON TAILORED
SOLUTIONS FOR THOSE CAMPUSES.
GRADUATING ON TIME IS A COMPLEX
ISSUE AND AN IMPORTANT CONCERN
FOR CSU STUDENTS INFLUENCED BY
VARIOUS FACTORS. MANY OF OUR
STUDENTS EXPERIENCE FINANCIAL
CONSTRAINTS DUE TO THE COST OF
PURSUING HIGHER EDUCATION, BUT
REQUIRES THEM TO WORK PART TIME
EVEN FULL TIME JOBS. THIS LEADS
THEM TO PRIORITIZING WORKING FOR
SURVIVAL VERSUS TAKING 15 UNITS
AS RECOMMENDED ACADEMIC
CHALLENGES AND ADMINISTRATIVE
BARRIERS, SUCH AS COURSE,
AVAILABILITY AND MAJOR
REQUIREMENTS CAN EXTEND THE
GRADUATION TIMELINE. MOREOVER
PERSONAL FACTORS SUCH AS FAMILY
COMMITMENTS AND MENTAL HEALTH
PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE WE HAVE
OBSERVED DOING TO LIKE ADEQUATE
SUPPORT SYSTEMS ARE MORE LIKELY
TO DROP OUT OR TO TAKE LONGER TO
GRADUATE, EMPHASIZING THE NEED
FOR MORE COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT.
SERVICE AND EMPLOYEE OF THE
OFFICE OF ADMISSIONS AND
RECRUITMENT, AND DURING MY TIME
I WAS ABLE TO INTERACT STUDENTS
WHICH ARE UNIQUE BACKGROUNDS AND
CIRCUMSTANCES STORY THAT WAS
STICK WITH ME. THE MOST WAS FROM
THIS SUMMER. UM WHEN I MET A
NONTRADITIONAL STUDENT WHO WAS
RETURNING TO CAMPUS AFTER THREE
YEARS, HE EXPRESSES FRUSTRATION
WITH HIS DECISION TO RETURN BACK
, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE HE WORKS 40
HOURS TO AFFORD HOUSING TO
SUPPORT HIS FAMILY AND EVEN
BOARDING GAS TO MAKE HIS
COMMUTE. HIS CONCERN WASN'T
ABOUT RETURNING TO ACADEMIA, BUT
IT WAS ABOUT BEING ABLE TO JUST
BEFORE SIX UNITS ALONE,
IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENT FOR ON
TIME. GRADUATION REQUIRES A
MULTIFACETED APPROACH ONE
CRITICAL ISSUE THAT MUST BE
ADDRESSED AS A DISPROPORTIONATE
AMOUNT OF DEBT BORN BY
UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITIES
WITHIN THE CSU SYSTEM. PREVIOUS
THAT COMES TO REPORT HIGHLIGHTED
THIS ALARMING TREND AND OUR
UPCOMING REPORT FINDINGS FURTHER
EMPHASIZED THE URGENCY OF THIS
ISSUE. FINANCIAL BURDENS, OFTEN
FOR STUDENTS INTO PART TIME OR
FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT, WHICH CAN
SLOW ACADEMIC PROCESS AND LEAD
TO EXTENDED GRADUATION TIMELINES
NOT ONLY AFFECTS STUDENTS
PRESENT ACADEMIC WISE BUT CAN
HAVE LONG TERM IMPACTS ON THEIR
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND
FINANCIAL WELL BEING. WE HAVE
LONG BEEN ADVOCATES FOR CAL
GRANTS REFORM AND WE LOOK
FORWARD TO HOPEFULLY SEEN IT
BEING IMPLEMENTED IN THE
UPCOMING BUDGET YEAR.
ADDITIONALLY CSS DAY IS
CURRENTLY CO SPONSORED A BILL BY
JOHN BURTON ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH
AND OTHER ADVOCACY GROUPS
REGARDING SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC
PROGRESS. 87 89 BY
ASSEMBLYMEMBER'S BERMAN WOULD
ENSURE THAT MORE CALIFORNIA
STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO KEEP THEIR
FINANCIAL AID AND ACHIEVE THEIR
HIGHER EDUCATION GOALS. BY
EXPANDING FINANCIAL AID
RESOURCES AND ELIGIBILITY. AS
WELL AS MAKING SURE THAT
STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO KEEP THAT
AID. WE BELIEVE THAT WE WILL SEE
MORE STUDENTS ATTENDING THE CSU
EARNING A DEGREE AND ACTUALIZING
SOCIAL MOBILITY. CURRENTLY THIS
YES, YOU HAVE PLANS AT ITS
SEPTEMBER BOARD OF THESE
MEETINGS TO VOTE TO RAISE
TUITION 6% ANNUALLY. WE ARE
ALREADY SEEING A CONCERNING
DROPPING ENROLLMENT ACROSS ALL
HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEMS AND AN
INCREASE IN TUITION. THIS HIGH
WILL INEVITABLY PROLONGED
STUDENTS, GRADUATION TIMELINES
AND RESULT IN FIRST GENERATION
STUDENTS ALMOST 40% MORE TO
GRADUATE THEM WHEN THEY STARTED
OR DROPPING OUT DUE TO FINANCIAL
HARDSHIP. THIS IS DEEPLY
CONCERNING AS A SYSTEM HAS LONG
BEEN KNOWN TO BE THE MOST
AFFORDABLE AND DIVERSE PUBLIC
HIGHER EDUCATION UNIVERSITY
SYSTEM IN THE NATION. SUCH AN
INCREASE WILL MAKE IT LESS
ACCESSIBLE, AND WE'LL POST AS A
BARRIER FOR STUDENTS OF
HISTORICALLY MARGINALIZED
COMMUNITIES. YES YOU MUST COME
UP WITH AN ALTERNATIVE MEANS TO
ADDRESS REVENUE SHORTFALLS FOR
THIS SYSTEM IF IT WANTS TO REACH
ITS GI 2025 GOALS. ADDITIONALLY
WE BELIEVE THAT A HOLISTIC
APPROACH ENCOMPASSING FLEXIBLE
LEARNING OPTIONS AND IMPROVED
STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES CAN
CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT CONDUCTIVE
TO FOUR YEAR GRADUATION, CSS
REMAINS COMMITTED TO WORKING
CLOSELY WITH THE CSU, LEVERAGING
OUR INSIGHT AND ADVOCACY TO
ENSURE THAT THE PATH TO
GRADUATION ARE THERE. MANAGEABLE
AND SUPPORTIVE OF ALL STUDENTS,
REGARDLESS OF THEIR FINANCIAL OR
ETHNIC BACKGROUND. EQUITY GAPS
ARE MORE THAN STATISTICS. THEY
REPRESENT REAL CHALLENGES THAT
AFFECT STUDENTS, DAILY LIFE AND
FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES. FROM THE
STUDENT PERSPECTIVE, THESE GAPS
CAN TRANSLATE INTO EXCLUSION,
EQUAL ACCESS TO RESOURCES AND
CHALLENGES AND ACADEMIC
ACHIEVEMENT. WE URGED THE ISSUE
CAMPUSES TO NOT JUST PRIORITIZE
A CULTURE OF INCLUSIVITY, BUT A
CULTURE OF EQUITY AS WELL. THIS
STARTS WITH ENSURING THE HIRING
AND RETENTION OF DIVERSE FACULTY
AND STUFF ALL LEVELS OF THE
UNIVERSITY AND ENSURING THAT
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTMENT OF
TARGETED STUDENT SUPPORT
SERVICES EQUALITY IS ENSURING
THAT STUDENTS HAS ACCESS TO.
SORRY QUALITY IS ENSURING ACCESS
TO ALL STUDENTS. EQUITIES
ENSURING ALL STUDENTS MAKE IT TO
THEIR GRADUATION DAY. TO SAY IS
DEDICATED TO WORKING ALONGSIDE
THE CSU TO ADVOCATE FOR POLICIES
AND THAT TRULY NARROW THESE GAPS
AND PROMOTING EQUITABLE
EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR ALL
RECOGNIZING THE EFFORTS AND
SUCCESSES OF THE CSU SYSTEM, WE
AS A CSS A BELIEVE THERE'S MORE
WORK TO BE DONE. OUR FOCUS
REMAINS ON REPRESENTING THE
STUDENT BODY AND WE ARE
COMMITTED TO CONTINUOUS
COLLABORATION WITH CSU.
TOGETHER, WE CAN BUILD A
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM THAT NOT ONLY
EDUCATES BUT EMPOWERS AND
SUPPORTS ALL STUDENTS, ENSURING
THAT EATEN INDIVIDUAL HAS THE
OPPORTUNITY TO SUCCEED. THANK
YOU. THANK YOU, SAMANTHA. AND
OUR APOLOGIES AGAIN FOR THE
TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, BUT WE
VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOUR
TESTIMONY AND YOUR PARTICIPATION
IN OUR HEARING TODAY, SO THANK
YOU VERY MUCH. WE'RE GOING TO
NOW GO TO THE PATIENT PEOPLE
HEARING ARE HEARING ROOM UNDER
PUBLIC COMMENT. WE WELCOME YOUR
THOUGHTS AND EVEN IN MIND THE
TIME THE TIME, SIR APPRECIATE
THAT. GOOD AFTERNOON SHARE.
GLASER SENATOR OF CHILL ABOVE MY
NAME IS RON RAP ON THE
LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR FOR THE
CALIFORNIA FACULTY ASSOCIATION.
WE REPRESENT 49,000. PROFESSORS
LECTURES, COACHES, LIBRARIANS ON
ALL 23 CSU CAMPUSES, AND I'M
SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF CFX. THANK
YOU SO MUCH FOR CONVENING THIS
HEARING. IT WAS VERY
INFORMATIONAL. WE APPRECIATE
THAT, UH, WE HAVE VERY SERIOUS
CONCERNS REGARDING THE
TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
OF THE INITIATIVE. I THINK AS
YOU DO BASED UPON YOUR COMMENTS
TODAY, ACCORDING TO THE C S U S
23 24 OPERATING BUDGET REQUEST
THE CSU HAS INVESTED ABOUT A
HALF A BILLION DOLLARS IN THE
GRADUATION INITIATIVES SINCE 15
16 ARE BIG QUESTIONS ARE WHERE
DID THE MONEY GO? AND WHAT ARE
THE OUTCOMES? I THINK WE HEARD
SOME OF THOSE OUTCOMES TODAY,
BUT I THINK WE NEED ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION INFORMATION ON IT ON
A CONSISTENT BASIS. WE DO
BELIEVE THAT THE BEST WAY TO
INCREASE GRADUATION RATES AND
CLOSE EQUITY GAPS IS TO INVEST
AND FACULTY AND STAFF. TO
PROVIDE FAIR AND EQUITABLE
COMPENSATION FOR FACULTY AND
STAFF AT THE CSU SO THAT WE
RETURN THE HIGHEST QUALITY
EDUCATORS AND SUPPORT PERSONNEL
AND INCREASED INVESTMENT IN
FACULTY AND STAFF WILL INCREASE
THE CHANCES THAT THE GOALS OF
THE GRADUATION INITIATIVE WILL
BE ACHIEVED. UM IN ADDITION,
FACULTY YOU WANT TO BE MORE
INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING AND
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GRADUATION
INITIATIVE. ONE OF THE VOICES
MISSING MISSING TODAY WAS THE
VOICE OF FACULTY MEMBERS. AND
FORTUNATELY SO I'M HERE TODAY TO
OFFER UP THAT COLLABORATION TO
COME TO THE TABLE AND MAKE SURE
THAT THE GRADUATION INITIATIVE
IS A SUCCESS. BUT WE NEED
MULTIPLE VOICES AT THE TABLE,
INCLUDING STUDENTS. MANAGEMENT
UH, FACULTY, AS WELL AS
COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO COME TO
CONSENSUS ON WHAT THAT LOOKS
LIKE, UM, SO THAT'S THE WAY THAT
WE'RE SUCCESSFUL WITH THE
GRADUATION INITIATIVE. ONCE
AGAIN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR
CONVENING THIS HEARING. IT WAS
VERY HELPFUL. AND THANK YOU ALL
FOR THE WORK THAT YOU TOO. THANK
YOU. AND I AGREE. I APPRECIATE
THAT WE HAD ALL THE TIME IN THE
WORLD. I THINK THAT WOULD HAVE
BEEN AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT TO
HAVE INCLUDED. AM HEARTENED TO
HEAR THAT THE THAT THERE THERE
WAS A STAKEHOLDER PROCESS AND
THE DEVELOPMENT OF 2025. MAYBE
THERE'S A CONVERSATION ON THE
SIDE ABOUT WHETHER IT WAS
ADEQUATE OR NOT. BUT I DID HEAR
THAT FROM THE SYSTEM AND
APPRECIATED HEARING THAT BUT
YOUR POINTS VERY WELL TAKEN.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU.
NEXT, PLEASE. GOOD AFTERNOON,
MELISSA BY HER BARDO ON BEHALF
OF THE EDUCATION TRUST WEST
RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY
ORGANIZATION COMMITTED TO
CLOTHING, ACHIEVEMENT AND
OPPORTUNITY GAPS. FIRST JUST
WANTED TO ACKNOWLEDGE TEREK
LASER NEWMAN, AS WELL AS MEMBERS
OF BOTH OF THE COMMITTEES FOR
HOSTING THIS HEARING TO THIS GAS
, THE IMPORTANT MOUTH DOWN TO
ACHIEVE BY THE INITIATIVE, BUT
ALSO PROVIDE THE NECESSARY
OVERSIGHT TO ENSURE THE SYSTEM
IS WORKING TO ADDRESS THE STARK
EQUITY GAPS THAT REMAIN. THE CSU
DESERVES CREDIT AND CELEBRATION
FOR IMPRESSIVE GAINS AND
GRADUATION RATES AMONG FIRST
TIME AND TRANSFER STUDENTS. WE
ALSO APPLAUD THE CSU FOR THE
TIMELY REPORT ON ADVANCING BLACK
STUDENT SUCCESS. THIS IS THE
HUGELY IMPORTANT MOVE FOR
PRIORITIZING EQUITY IN OUR
STATE. THROUGHOUT OUR BUDGET
ADVOCACY, HOWEVER, THE EDUCATION
TRUST WEST HAS CONTINUED TO
ENGAGE POLICYMAKERS THAN THEY
COLDER THAN THE IMPORTANCE OF
ESTABLISHING RACE CONSCIOUS
GOALS AND METRICS TO ENSURE THAT
THE ASSETS AND NEEDS OF UNDER
UPPER THAN HIS STUDENTS ARE NOT
OVERLOOKED IN SYSTEM WIDE
INITIATIVE. WE REMAIN CONCERNED
THAT CSU PROGRESS REPORT,
INCLUDING YOUR AGENDA DOES NOT
PROPOSE ANY NEW STRATEGIES
TAILORED TO ADDRESS EQUITY GAPS
AMONG PACIFIC RACIAL AND ETHNIC
GROUPS. THE EFFORTS NAMED ON
PAGE TWO OF THE PROGRESS REPORT,
SUCH AS PROVIDING EQUITABLE
ACCESS TO THE DIGITAL DEGREE
PLANNER, EXPANDING CREDIT
OPPORTUNITIES. ETCETERA ARE NO
DOUBT IMPORTANT STRATEGIES TO
IMPROVE GRADUATION RATES
OVERALL. BUT IT'S NOT CLEAR HOW
THESE PRIORITIES WILL CLOSE
SPECIFIC RACIAL EQUITY GAP THERE
TOO BROAD AND FAILED TO SET
GOALS FOR OR AN ADDRESS THE
SPECIFIC ASSET IN NEED OF NATIVE
BLACK AND HISPANIC STUDENTS. AS
WE LOOK FORWARD TO 2025 AND
BEYOND, WE ENCOURAGE THE CSU TO
ESTABLISH BOLD, RACE CONSCIOUS
GOALS. BOTH SYSTEM WIDE AND
CAMPUS SPECIFIC TOWARDS CLOSING
THOSE EQUITY GAPS AND IDENTIFY
RACE CONSCIOUS STRATEGIES TO
MEET THOSE GOALS. WE ALSO ECHOED
THE RECOMMENDATION FROM OUR
COLLEAGUES AT THE CAMPAIGN FOR
COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY TO
DISAGGREGATE TO DISAGGREGATE THE
DATA BEYOND THE USE OF U. R M
AND NON U R M CATEGORIES.
LASTLY, AS YOU ENGAGE IN FUTURE
BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS REGARDING
EITHER THE MULTIYEAR COMPACT OR
ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR THE
GRADUATION INITIATIVE. WE
ENCOURAGE THE LEGISLATURE TO
ESTABLISH MORE EXPLICIT METRICS
AND CLOTHING, RACIAL EQUITY GAPS
AT THE CONDITION OF FUNDING TO
ENSURE THAT THE SYSTEMS MAKE
ANNUAL PROGRESS TOWARDS GOALS.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
AFTERNOON MR CHAIR AND
SENATOR DAHLE. A UM, ON BEHALF
OF THE CCO EMPLOYEES UNION
REPRESENTING 16,000 NON FACULTY
STAFF AT THE CSU. WE REALLY
APPRECIATE THE EFFORTS YOU'RE
MAKING TO SHED LIGHT ON THE CCS
GRADUATION INITIATIVE 2025 AND
THE EXISTING EQUITY GAPS. IT'S
IMPERATIVE THAT WE'RE REVIEWING
THIS THESE PROGRAMS TO ENSURE
THAT THEY'RE ACHIEVING THEIR
GOALS AND CLOSING EQUITY GAPS
FOR BOTH STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES
AT THE CSU. ONE KEY ELEMENT OF
THAT REVIEW, ENSURING
TRANSPARENCY AND HOW C SUS
EXPANDING FUNDING FOR THESE
PURPOSES AS YOU DISCUSSED TODAY
, EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE
LEGISLATIVE BUDGET ATTEMPTED TO
IMPOSE TRANSPARENCY AND
REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ON THE
CSU REGARDING HOW THEY SPEND
COMPACT MONEY. THAT LANGUAGE WAS
ULTIMATELY REPLACED WITH LESS
GRANULAR REPORTING. WE BELIEVE
MORE TRANSPARENCY IS IMPERATIVE
TO ENSURE THAT EVERY DOLLAR
APPROPRIATED TO THE CSU IS GOING
TOWARDS STUDENT AND EMPLOYEE
SUCCESS. WE ALSO CONTINUE TO
SEEK A PATH FORWARD WITH THE CSU
ON SALARY STEPS, IMPLEMENTING A
FAIR AND COMPETITIVE WAGE
STRUCTURE FOR REPRESENTED. STAFF
IS ANOTHER CRUCIAL COMPONENT OF
STUDENT SUCCESS AS OUR MEMBERS
PLAY CRITICAL ROLES IN THE
STUDENT EXPERIENCE OF THE CSU.
WITH THIS IN MIND, WE WOULD
ENCOURAGE MORE ENGAGEMENT WITH
REPRESENTED STAFF AND FACULTY ON
THESE INITIATIVES. FINALLY, WE
JUST ENCOURAGE THE COMMITTEE TO
CONTINUE ITS OVERSIGHT OF THE
SEA SUS INITIATIVES AND WE LOOK
FORWARD TO WORKING TOGETHER TO
ENSURE THAT STUDENTS AND
EMPLOYEES OF THE CCU CAN THRIVE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU SO
MUCH. MORLEY ROSENBERG ER WITH S
E I U I JUST WANT TO LINE MY
COMMENTS WITH THE F A AND C S U
EW ON THE IMPORTANCE AND END OF
THIS COMMITTEE AND APPRECIATIVE
OF THE SENATE AND THE ASSEMBLY
FOR CONTINUING TO PUSH FOR
OVERSIGHT FOR SUNSHINE, WHICH WE
KNOW IS SO IMPORTANT AS WE TRY
TO SUCCEED A BIT INTENT OF THIS
GOAL, BUT I THINK ONE OF THE
CRUCIAL THINGS WE KEEP HEARING
AGAIN AND AGAIN AS ENGAGEMENT
NOT ONLY AS A FACULTY PUSH FOR
SO LONG FOR THIS CONSIDERATION,
BUT WAS JUST YOU KNOW, EVEN IF
IT'S CONCERNING THE
STAKEHOLDERS, ITS BRIEF, IT'S
NOT ONGOING ENGAGEMENT, AND THE
SAME THING APPLIES TO OUR
SUPPORT STAFF WHO ARE NOW
CURRENTLY TRYING TO ORGANIZE THE
UNREPRESENTED STUDENT WORKERS
WHO LOOK LIKE THE STUDENTS WERE
TRYING TO HELP IN THIS
INITIATIVE, WHICH IS WHY WE
REALLY ENCOURAGE THE CONTINUED
TO PUSH NOT JUST FOR
TRANSPARENCY, BUT ALSO FOR
ENGAGEMENT OF THE WORKFORCE.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THE PHONE
LINES. I BELIEVE THERE MAY BE
ONE OR TWO FOLKS THAT ARE THERE
TO TESTIFY. LET ME CHECK WITH
THE MODERATOR. MODERATOR IS
THEIR FOCUS ON THE LINE THAT
WANT TO THEIR NAME ON THE RECORD
IN THIS HEARING. THANK YOU FOR
PUBLIC COMMENT. YOU MAY PRESS
ONE AND THEN ZERO. AND WE'LL GO
TO LINE 11. YOUR LINE IS OPEN.
OH, THERE'S DEFINITELY PEOPLE ON
THE PHONE. THIS IS ANDREA FROM
AND I REPRESENT PEOPLE. IT ISN'T
QUITE AN INTERESTING AFTERNOON
LISTENING TO THIS HEARING THAT
REPORTS TO BE ABOUT EQUITY AND
INCLUSIVITY. FRANKLY I WOULD
LIKE TO HEAR THE STATISTICS ON
THE GRADUATION RATES OF
UNVACCINATED STUDENTS. OH, WAIT
. YOU KICK THEM OUT. AND IN THE
CASE OF MY DAUGHTER, YOU REFUSED
TO ADMIT HER AT ALL, WHICH IS
WHY SHE DECIDED TO LEAVE
CALIFORNIA JUST LIKE SO MANY OF
HER FRIENDS FOR EXTENDING
UNIVERSITIES IN MANY STATES
EXCEPT CALIFORNIA. IT IS IRONIC
MEAT BECAUSE VACCINE MANDATES DO
NOT REFLECT EQUITY IN ANY WAY,
SHAPE OR FARM. YES SHE SUS HAVE
DENIED EDUCATION STUDENTS AT
POTENTIAL STUDENTS. AS WELL AS
DENIED CS TWO EMPLOYEES THEIR
RIGHT TO WORK THE VACCINE
MANDATES. AND JUST AS ANOTHER
ANECDOTAL STORY. I PERSONALLY
HAVE A FRIEND WHO LEFT HER JOB
AT SAC STATE AND MOVED TO TEXAS
TWO YEARS AGO WHICH FOR CHILDREN
DUE TO THE VACCINE MANDATES AT
THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL, AND ALSO
AT THE LEVEL OF THE PUBLIC GREAT
SCHOOLS IN THIS VERY HEARING YOU
TALKED ABOUT NEEDING TO ATTRACT
STUDENTS FROM OTHER STATES
BECAUSE CSU ENROLLMENT GOALS ARE
NOT BEING MET. AND YET THERE WAS
NOT ANY INFORMATION GIVEN ABOUT
HOW CALIFORNIA IS LOSING
POPULATION, INCLUDING LOSING A
CONGRESSIONAL SEATS DUE TO THE
MASS EXODUS OF PEOPLE FLEEING
CALIFORNIA OVER VACCINE
MANDATES. AT THIS POINT IN THE
STORY. I'M NOT EVEN SURE WHAT TO
SAY. FEW PEOPLE OTHER THAN
SENATOR NEWMAN, IT WAS GREAT TO
SEE YOU IN THE COFFEE SHOP THE
OTHER DAY. JUST SPEAK TO THE
SUBJECT AT HAND. OKAY GIVING YOU
THE FLEXIBILITY TO DO IT
ADDRESSED THE COMMITTEE AND I'M
ALLOWED TO ADDRESS THE CHAIR
BECAUSE YOU PEOPLE HAVE
DISCRETION TO HANDLE THIS DURING
THE WAY YOU WANT TO, AND I AS
PART OF THE CITIZENRY WHO'S
INVOLVED IN THE DOG ADVOCACY OF
THE DAILY GRIND, YOU CAN BENEFIT
FROM LISTENING TO PEOPLE LIKE ME
AND MY INSIGHTS. WELL, Y'ALL ARE
JUST SITTING DOWN THERE WAITING
TO BUILD YOUR GLASS PALACE WITH
OUR TAX DOLLARS THING ELSE. YOU
WANT TO CONCLUDE WITH ANYTHING?
YEAH, SUS ARE LOSING ENROLLMENT
. THIS IS NOT A MYSTERY. IT'S
NOT A MYSTERY IN ANY WAY. SO
FIGURE IT OUT. VACCINE MANDATES
DON'T WORK AND STOP SHOVING
POISON INTO THE POPULATION OF
CALIFORNIA. THANK YOU VERY MUCH
. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
PARTICIPATING, MODERATE OR ANY
FURTHER COMMENTS. YES, NUMBER
NINE. YOUR LINE IS OPEN. THANK
YOU VERY MUCH. MY NAME IS DEBBIE
RAUSCHER. AND I'M WITH JOHN
BURTON. ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HOLDING
THIS IMPORTANT HEARING. I WANTED
TO ECHO WHAT THE STUDENT
REPRESENTATIVE RAISED ABOUT THE
ISSUE OF STUDENTS LOSING
FINANCIAL AID DUE TO SATISFY
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS
REQUIREMENTS. THE
REPRESENTATIVES FROM SACRAMENTO
AND LONG BEACH MENTIONED THAT
THERE'S MUCH MORE BENEFICIAL TO
HELP STUDENTS TO REMAIN INVOLVED
OLD. SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC
PROGRESS REQUIREMENTS RESULTS IN
MANY STUDENTS LOSING FINANCIAL
AID AND DIFFERENT ROLLING
RESEARCHES FOUND THAT BLACK
STUDENTS ARE DISQUALIFIED FROM
FINANCIAL AID BECAUSE OF THESE
OUTDATED REQUIREMENTS AT RATES
THAT ARE DOUBLE THAT OF WHITE
STUDENTS. ADDRESSING THIS
INEQUITY IS VITAL TO THE EFFORT
TO REDUCE DISPARITIES AND
GRADUATION RATES, AS WAS NOTED
ASSEMBLY BILL 789, SPONSORED BY
THE U STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS WOULD
CREATE A COMMON SET OF STUDENTS
FOCUSED STANDARDS FOR
DETERMINING ONGOING ELIGIBILITY
FOR FINANCIAL AID, AND IT'S
CURRENTLY ON SUSPENSE IN SENATE
APPROPRIATIONS. MOVING THIS BILL
FORWARD. I WOULD BE A CRUCIAL
TOOL TO ADDRESSING THE ISSUE OF
EQUITY AND GRADUATION RATES.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU
VERY MUCH. MODERATOR. NEXT
CALLER, PLEASE. AND WE HAVE NO
FURTHER PUBLIC COMMENT AND QUÊ
MR CHAIR. THANK YOU. WELL, LET
ME CONCLUDE THE HEARING BY
THANKING MY COLLEAGUES SAYS MY
DECK, THE CO CHAIR, SENATOR
NEWMAN. SENATOR OCHOA. BOTH
SENATOR ALLEN SENATOR LAIRD,
SENATOR CORTEZ, SENATOR
SMALLWOOD CUEVAS FOR THEIR
ENGAGEMENT IN QUESTIONS. LET ME
THANK THE STAFF OF THE EDUCATION
COMMITTEE AND MY STAFF. SHAWNA
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION
AND ALL THE FOLKS WHO CAME IN
PARTICIPATED EITHER PROVIDING
DIRECT TESTIMONY OR IN THE
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. WE
APPRECIATE YOUR ENGAGEMENT ON
SUCH AN IMPORTANT TOPIC WITHOUT
THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, AND
THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON STUDENT
SUCCESS IS ADJOURNED.