“I will work with faculty, staff, leadership, students and trustees to further invigorate a focus on student achievement and degree completion,” said White. “The CSU will invest an additional $50 million in seven key areas designed directly to advance student achievement and high quality degree completion. With this laser focus, we will channel our energies into doing more of what it is that we do well.”
The seven areas include:
- Hiring tenure-track faculty
- Enhancing advising both through hiring additional staff, as well as increasing the use of technology
- Expanding the university’s efforts to alleviate curricular bottlenecks with more fully online concurrent enrollment courses in CSU CourseMatch
- Increasing student preparation by expanding Early Start
- Expanding high-impact practices that enrich the educational environment in areas including service learning, applied research and study abroad
- Expanding of data-driven decision making to improve program quality and advance student success
- Bolstering degree completion for transfer students
In addition to the investment, White pledged to increase collaborative efforts with state and national policymakers; colleagues in K-12, the California Community Colleges and the University of California; business and community organizations; Trustees; and faculty, staff, students, alumni and all Californians to accomplish these goals.
Earlier this month, White traveled to Washington D.C. to join President Obama, the First Lady and a select group of leaders to discuss ways to improve college opportunities. White also joined UC President Janet Napolitano and California Community Colleges Chancellor Bryce W. Harris at the recent UC Regents meeting and shared some of the efforts that are leading to greater collaboration, while committing to increase those efforts between California’s three systems of higher education.
The Public Policy Institute of California forecasts that the state will need an additional one million college graduates to meet the workforce demands of 2025. With nearly three million alumni including more than 100,000 graduates in 2013 the CSU is uniquely positioned help meet California’s workforce needs.
“We are the California State University, a public good worthy of investment, and we produce the graduates that are needed to lead and change this state.”