News and Information for California State University Leaders
Vol. 4, No. 31, September 15, 2005

CSU Enrolls Katrina-Affected Students

Following through on the California State University's commitment to accept students who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina, CSU campuses have currently admitted a total of 388 students and enrolled 177 - a number that is projected to grow in the coming days.

Campuses are also standing by to host evacuees. At San Jose State, 30 people are living at the Spartan Village Complex. San Diego State is prepared to shelter 600 individuals. Additionally, Cal Maritime's Golden Bear training ship is on standby for deployment if needed.

For more information on campus efforts to offer hurricane aid, see the CSU's hurricane relief page.

Board to Focus on Graduation Initiative

At the CSU's Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 20 and 21 in Long Beach, the board will hear an update on the CSU's graduation initiative. The initiative calls for the CSU to
(1) increase high school students' academic preparation for college through the Early Assessment Program; (2) improve the community college transfer process through the Lower Division Transfer Patterns project; and (3) identify a clear path to the degree for matriculated students through campus actions to facilitate graduation.

Test results for the 2005 Early Assessment Program are expected soon. Students, parents, and teachers will use the results to make course selections for students in the 12th grade that will prepare them better to take college-level English and mathematics. More information on the EAP program and test results of the previous year are available here.

The Lower Division Transfer Patterns project provides efficient class patterns for community college students who wish to transfer to the CSU. The project will speed the graduation of community college students, helping them avoid taking excess units that are unnecessary for transfer. The CSU faculty has created systemwide patterns of classes for 30 majors and is working to develop patterns for an additional 17 majors. Project information is available here.

Campus actions to facilitate graduation include helping students choose an efficient pathway to the degree.

Other items before the board include:

  • Recognition of the 12 student winners of the 2005/06 William R. Hearst/CSU Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement.
  • A report on revenue and expenditure assumptions for fiscal year 2006/07 as well as an overview of 2005/06 appropriations.
  • A new policy to take efficiency and sustainability to a higher level.

The full board agenda is available here.


 

CFA Bargaining

A report on the latest bargaining status between the CSU and the California Faculty Association (CFA) is available here (.doc).

CSU Chico communication design students have created three documentary films about Bidwell Park, the 11-mile central park in Chico that is celebrating its centennial this year.

According to Communication Design Professor Theresa Bergman, the students not only learned about Chico's history via the films' production, they also had the opportunity to meet members of the Mechoopda Tribe of Chico Rancheria, the original inhabitants of the land. The interviews for the film were one-time interviews granted to people outside of the tribe. More CSU Chico news.

 

Cal State San Marcos professors Juan Necochea and Zulmara Cline, who fear that the the education of young Mexican immigrants new to the border region may be compromised because of a lack of understanding about differences between U.S. and Mexican school systems, will host the fifth binational Border Pedagogy Conference on September 24.

The conference is expected to attract 250 to 300 educators from Mexico and the U.S. for a series of face-to-face discussions on issues in border education. More CSUSM news.

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