​Online learning. In-person classwork. Hybrid and multimodal courses. Wherever students are learning today, the California State University is making strides to meet them where they are. Across the CSU's 23 campuses, faculty and staff are learning new ways to embed equitable learning practices into their teaching and course design to address students' diverse learning needs.

During the summer of 2021, the CSU Chancellor's Office Academic Technology Services and Innovative Teaching & Learning Programs engaged consultant, author and long-time San Francisco State faculty lecturer Kevin Kelly, Ed.D., to develop and facilitate the Flexible Course Experience Institute for CSU faculty and staff to learn strategies for increasing flexibility in course structure, managing multiple technology platforms and workloads, and creating equivalent learning experiences for students engaging at different times and places.

“Flexible courses support teaching and learning across multiple delivery methods, and the combinations of methods differ by campus and instructor," says Dr. Kelly. Various flexible course delivery combinations can now be found throughout the university.

Kelly created the Flexible Course Experience curriculum on Canvas Commons for all CSU campuses, who may adopt or adapt it for their own trainings. Kelly also helped launch the Flexible Course Delivery website, designed to support faculty and staff as they explore flexible, multimodal courses. 

​What Makes a Course Flexible?

Instructors can make courses more flexible by combining two or more delivery methods at once, such as in-person, real-time remote, or online on your own time. But the delivery method is just the starting point of flexible teaching and learning, Kelly says.

“We can consider the course delivery method as a start, and we can build on that by creating flexible ways of teaching and learning within the course elements, activities and assessment," he says.

​Kelly explains that beyond the modality of a course there are other fundamental values to consider, including the need to create equivalent experiences for students, no matter which modality they are using. “How do we change the way we deliver content to students, so that it's just as easy for a 35-year-old parent who's got two kids and is working full time and needs to learn asynchronously—not by choice, but because that's the only way to continue on their academic path to support their social mobility goals."

It should be noted that creating and facilitating flexible courses requires real effort by faculty and campus staff alike.​

​Flexible Learning Anywhere

The beauty of flexible learning pedagogy is that many of the principles can benefit all learners, whether in a traditional face-to-face class or learning asynchronously on their own time, or somewhere in between.

As an example, Kelly points to the use of social annotation/reading tools as a flexible practice that can take place in any learning modality. Social annotation enables students and teachers to have conversations in the margins of digital texts, fostering a deeper understanding of readings while building a sense of community in the classroom—whether online or in-person.

Social reading tools allow instructors to provide prompts for the students so they understand why they are reading a particular text, what they are supposed to take away from the reading and how they might get there with a set of inquiry-based questions, he says.

“It's providing structure around activities that are pretty status quo and extending them by making them collaborative instead of individual," Kelly says.  

Collaboration and building community are key facets of flexible course pedagogy. In fact, Kelly says one of the top questions instructors have is how to create opportunities for students to connect with students who may be in a different place or a different time—or both.

“You have to create reasons for students to make these connections," he says. “If you're going to have small group activities, make sure that you're allowing for the fact that some students are parents or fully employed and aren't going to be able to participate in synchronous activity, so there should be an asynchronous pathway for students to contribute."

​Preparing Flexible Learners

Can we prepare students to be better online/flexible learners? Kelly says we should be supporting students to become better learners—period—regardless of the modality.

Kelly teaches a course at SF State called “How to Learn with Your Mobile Device," which helps students use technology to enable metacognitive strategies—such as using an app to master the Pomodoro Technique.

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​To set students up for success, Kelly recommends that instructors are upfront about the modalities they'll be using, and then give students strategies that will help them be successful. “When we are teaching in flexible methods, we need to prepare students by letting them know what to expect, how to be successful and then supporting them."

CSU Campuses Flex

Many CSU campuses are also creating their own campus-specific professional development programming to expand flexible course options. In 2021, Chico State launched a pilot program called ChicoFlex, in which faculty taught students in person (roomers) and students online (Zoomers) at the same time. ChicoFlex classes are offered in special classrooms configured with cameras that follow the instructor around the room, microphones for Zoomers to hear voices in the classroom and speakers so roomers can hear Zoomers when they speak. ChicoFlex instructors are encouraged to attend GoFlex, a five-day professional development session that provides hands-on practice teaching in a specially equipped classroom to both in-person and online participants.

Several Chico State instructors have shared their experiences after attending GoFlex and posted videos with their takeaways. Katie Mercurio, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Chico State College of Business, shared her reflections in an August 2021 video: “The value of GoFlex is that it forces you to think more deeply about achieving learning objectives—not only for the people who are in room, but also for the people who are attending on Zoom. I need to create an equitable learning environment and I need to create equitable assignments for the students."

​“I feel incredibly fortunate that I have this opportunity to use the flex technology because I truly believe this is going to become the dominant teaching modality of the classroom as we move into the future," Mercurio said.

“This new flexibility that we're all evolving into is going to allow me to better serve my students," said Chico State lecturer Adrienne Edwards in her GoFlex learning recap video. “It will offer them greater flexibility, more learning options, modes of instruction, and skills that can carry into the future, not just in the field of teaching, but also for skills that the students are going to take away from college as well."

With a focus on student success, more flexible course options provide new learning pathways for students who have competing obligations like going to work or caring for children. The CSU remains committed to providing more equitable access to high-quality education for all students.

Learn more about Flexible Course Delivery at the CSU.

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The California State University is comprised of some of the most academically, economically and ethnically diverse students, faculty and staff in the nation. Its 23 campus presidents not only reflect the unique identities of community members, but they also work to promote equity and inclusion, acting as servant leaders to empower those who come after them.

While Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) individuals account for less than 5 percent of four-year college and university presidents in the United States, APIDA leaders make up about 17 percent of the CSU’s campus presidents. To mark the occasion of Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month, we asked the CSU’s APIDA campus presidents to share their journey and what inspires their work.

Read thoughts from Stanislaus State President Ellen N. Junn, Sonoma State President Judy K. Sakaki, Cal State Fullerton President Framroze Virjee and CSU Channel Islands President Richard Yao.

Ellen N.​ Junn, Stanislaus State President
First Korean Ame​​​rican Wo​man in the U.S. to Lead a Four-Year University

As one of a small number of APIDA university presidents in the U.S., what motivated you​ to keep pursuing new and higher roles when you didn’t see people like yourself in leadership positions?

In all candor, I must admit that I never realized that there were so few APIDA individuals represented at the top levels of higher education administration until I became a university president. I had not contemplated this fact because I had never imagined or set a goal of becoming a top-level administrator in academia—possibly due to a range of cultural, societal and demographic factors.

In terms of cultural influences, among several Asian countries such as Japan, Korea and China, educators are accorded very high societal respect and the pursuit of and respect for education is a cultural norm. In my case, my father was the first in his family to go to college from his remote, poor South Korean island farming community because my grandfather made it a priority.

As a result of my father’s passion for higher education and fervent desire to live in a truly democratic society, he emigrated from South Korea to America after the Korean War to seek and obtain his master’s and doctorate degrees in the U.S. He eventually became a tenured university professor of political science. I absolutely loved learning, and after completing my bachelor’s degree in cognitive psychology, I moved onto a doctoral program to delve more deeply into human cognition and development.

It never dawned on me that there were not many APIDA in higher education leadership positions because APIDA faculty represent the largest proportion of minority faculty in the professoriate in universities, relative to other groups such as African American, Hispanic or other traditionally underrepresented faculty. For example, I have strong memories of having had one or two APIDA faculty who were my professors when I was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. I also remember seeing other APIDA faculty across campus, and many were concentrated in the sciences, engineering and sometimes business.

I was successful and happy in my role as a tenured professor but, over time, I started getting nominated for progressively higher academic leadership positions. I found it rewarding and exciting to be able to work in these positions that enabled me to enact greater policy and infrastructure changes and to have control over resources that could improve student and faculty success. I did not feel alone or unusual because I loved the work I was doing as an administrator.

After I was appointed president of Stanislaus State, I was startled to realize that I was the first Korean American woman president appointed at a four-year college or university in the U.S. Even more surprising to me was that this is especially the case for APIDA women. To my knowledge thus far, it appears that there have been only 13 APIDA women presidents appointed to lead four-year comprehensive colleges or universities in the U.S. since 1998. ​Furthermore, this APIDA leadership gap, sometimes referred to as the “bamboo ceiling,” is not limited to academia, since there are similar gaps in other professions. This “bamboo ceiling gap” persists ​to this day.

How does your unique APIDA heritage and your lived experiences shape your leadership style?

The other interesting fact is that many Americans see APIDA as a homogenous group of Asians. The truth is that this APIDA group, while sharing many underlying similarities, come from completely different and separate countries with entirely different languages, religious affiliations and political, societal and historical trajectories. On top of these differences among Asian countries of origin, once Asians emigrated to the U.S. and were assimilated in varying degrees to become “Asian American,” the heritage and lived experiences become even more complicated and nuanced. Therefore, each of us has a unique cultural, historical and generational background that is often hard to explain in predictable ways.

My lived experiences growing up in America as an APIDA in the “melting pot” assimilation ethos of the Midwest, with a brief stint in the deep South shortly after the era of civil rights and during the emergence of women’s rights, all had a profound and transformative effect on my perspectives and view of the world. Not surprisingly, my parents fully embraced assimilating to the American way of life by naturalizing as American citizens, changing their names to Bob and Sue to sound more American and giving their children American first names. They were proud to let go of their prior Asian traditions and raised us to become American. So, in many ways, while I am very proud to be APIDA, I do not have strong identification to my country of origin. Where I grew up, we were the only APIDA family in our entire town, and we were proud to call ourselves “American.”

Nonetheless, I can say that some enduring APIDA cultural values continue to be core values for me today. These values include honoring family and family relationships, demonstrating respect for elders and community, showing respect for the value of higher education and valuing the importance of hard work, perseverance, humility, integrity and deference. Many of these values are reflected in my leadership style. In contrast, however, there are other more traditional Asian attitudes that often favor a more authoritarian style of communication or governance and many Asian cultures still have a strong tendency to favor a male-centric approach. As a woman APIDA leader, I have consciously worked to use a much more gender-neutral, proactive, open, collaborative and consultative style in my interactions, communications and relationships, which I believe have been very beneficial skills as an APIDA leader in higher education.

How do you use your leadership platform to inspire and empower students, faculty and staff to dream big and pursue their goals? What inspires you to do this important work, day in and day out?

I have an enduring and deep commitment to upholding and supporting a culture grounded in diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice (DEISJ) philosophy and action steps. I am inspired to support and build an inclusive, just and welcoming environment for the community at Stanislaus State and every CSU campus where I had the good fortune to work.

As an example, after coming to my campus, my staff and I worked with members of our APIDA faculty and staff to establish our first Asian Pacific Islander Faculty & Staff Association (AAPIFSA), and other ethnic organizations like the​ Chicanx/Latinx Faculty and Staff Association (CLFSA) and the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA). We also provide funds from the President’s Office and the President’s Commission for Diversity and Inclusion (PCDI) to fund Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Heritage Month events, cultural commencement receptions and other ethnic social events and activities. I am also fortunate that my cabinet and campus community have supported efforts to combat anti-Asian hate, as I have publicly commented on this t​roubling trend in recognition of our APIDA students, faculty and staff.

Judy K. ​Sakaki, Sonoma State President
First Japanese American Woman in the U.S. to Lead a Four-Year University

​As one of a small number of APIDA university presidents in the U.S., what motivated you to keep pursuing new and higher roles when you didn’t see people like yourself in leadership positions?

The lack of people who looked like me was and continues to be a strong motivation for my career trajectory, but it did not come without sacrifice. When so many of my colleagues were men, and I was a single mother raising two boys, I had to make sure I was in my office early enough for meetings that were scheduled without concern for parental duties. And I had to work to find common areas of discussion with men who came into the office ready to discuss the latest basketball or football game. In the early days, I really had to adapt to the existing culture to move up within it.

​Now, things have changed some, and for the better, but women, who comprise approximately 50 percent or more of college students, are represented by about a third of presidents in higher education. And digging down into those statistics, among Minority Serving Institutions (MSI), only 12 percent have female presidents. APIDA presidents constitute a very small percentage of all higher education executive leaders, and that is not even broken down by gender.

When I was appointed president of Sonoma State in 2016, I was the first Japanese American woman in the U.S. to head up a four-year public university. Had I not lived the life I did, I would have found that flabbergasting. This was before the publicity of the anti-Asian hate was fomented by the pandemic. Although even back in 2016, I and the university received several hateful comments directed at me as a female APIDA president.

All of this keeps me going and keeps me faithful to opening as many doors as I can to talented individuals of color, especially women, who are not moving rapidly enough or painlessly enough through the leadership pipeline. I know there are many who believe that it is not the responsibility of people of color to get that pipeline working more efficiently, but until I see enough allies who are really acting on behalf of talented staff, faculty and executive leaders of color, I will do what I can, in whatever way I can, to help.

How does your unique APIDA heritage and your lived experiences shape your leadership style?

Both my parents and grandparents were interned in camps during World War II, something that they never talked about, but which shaped all of our experiences in the years that followed. I only knew that my parents worked extremely hard, that they were concerned about their children’s ability to support themselves, and that we maintained a kind of resilience that I compare to stalks of bamboo, which can bend almost to the ground without breaking or losing integrity.

I was a first-generation college student, despite being told by my high school counselor that I would be well-suited to retail sales. The evolution of my thinking and experience was due in large part to mentors—often women who encouraged me to push the boundaries of what I was expected to do and what I could do. And, I always had those values from my parents that I should not give up, so I continued along my career path, working to understand and negotiate the professional cultures along the way.

Some may see that as stereotypical of Asian cultures, but we need to remember that different groups have adapted to discrimination, racism and racist violence in ways that help ensure their survival. I don’t think of my personality or background as stereotypically anything, but I do recognize that the conditions in which I grew up helped shape me, and necessitated methods of managing that aligned with values and ideals from my family, community and experience.

In terms of my leadership style, the cumulation of those experiences and values is that I tend to be very consultative in my decisions. I solicit input from key stakeholders, and I truly enjoy talking to students, staff and faculty about what their experiences are like and what we can learn from each other.

After the 2017 [Tubbs] fire, in which I lost my home and almost lost my life, a strong sense of community on campus really kept me going. My focus on resilience became important in a new way. And there was just so much shared empathy because so many had suffered loss during that time. That experience taught me an invaluable lesson about the importance of engagement as both a formal and informal ideal.

How do you use your leadership platform to inspire and empower students, faculty and staff to dream big and pursue their goals? What inspires you to do this important work, day in and day out?

Because I am a product of public education and grew up in East Oakland, I try to give back to the organizations that helped me on my way. I speak at events, work directly with student groups both on campus and in the community and am passionate about recruiting and retaining more diverse faculty, staff and students to Sonoma State.

I have contributed some family items to an exhibit, “From Suffrage to #MeToo,” at the Museum of Sonoma County, hosted fellows from the American Council on Education (ACE)—a program that was incredibly helpful for me—​and currently serve on the ACE Women’s Network Executive Council. I was a founding board member of APAHE (Asian Pacific Americans in Higher Education) and have consulted with myriad universities, including Yale, on how to strengthen their support for students, especially students from historically marginalized groups. And I take to heart Ella Baker’s admonition to “lift as you climb.”

It is such a pleasure to see diversity become more and more institutionalized on our campuses, because the richness of everyone’s experience is so much deeper. And to see our students and colleagues of color dream big is central to my professional satisfaction. ​I believe in the Japanese saying: “Tsumoreba Yama to Naru.” It means that even the finest particles of dust, when gathered together, can allow those that come behind you to climb higher and see further than they dreamed possible.

Framroze Virjee, Cal State Fullerton President
First Indian American Person to Lead CSUF

​As one of a small number of APIDA university presidents in the U.S., what motivated you to keep pursuing new and higher roles when you didn’t see people like your​self in leadership positions?

As a first-generation student and an immigrant to this country, I have always been inspired by the ideas and ideals that we, as Americans, espouse around equity, inclusion, opportunity and social justice. Though they did not experience higher education, my parents clearly understood its value; the trajectory it provides for social mobility and equity. That meant, in our home, there was no space for "I can’t" or "It's not fair." Roadblocks were viewed as made for removal, systemic barriers were viewed as obstacles to navigate and actualizing your dreams was viewed as a window to success.

As someone who is half Indian and who identifies as such, but who easily presents as white, I did not face the same barriers Mom and Dad did, or that we did together as a family.  Instead, the further I traveled from the wonderful home they provided, the easier it was for me to access the privilege that is inherent in our society for some, but at the expense of others. That was a motivator to take on new and more advanced roles in my career—to pursue leadership opportunities, but to do so with a mindset of a wedge to open the door, a catalyst to make change and a leader to insist on equity, inclusion and social justice.

How does your unique APIDA heritage and your lived experiences shape your leadership style?

My dad was a Merchant Marine Sea captain, so I grew up on a ship. I had seen half the world by the time I was six and moved to the U.S., which included not only the experience of many cultures, but the enriching traditions of family and faith that were shared with me deeply and regularly by my Zoroastrian fa​mily. Religious and calendar celebrations, prayers and rites of passage, food and family; these all shaped me, teaching me values, the beauty of faith, the joy of service and the strength of tradition.

As I rose to adulthood, the concepts of social justice, equality, unalienable human rights, care and compassion that were shared with me by my parents informed who I would become as a leade​r, as did their historical and cultural perspectives and their experiences in our new home. It was this exposure to my heritage and my lived experiences that drove me to the law, and to all it can and might do to further these values. Within the law, these same cultural and lived experiences worked as a magnet to attract me to the concepts of non-discrimination, freedom from harassment and the exercise of basic rights that find root in constitutional and labor and employment laws. And as I came to represent educational institutions, and then to teach within higher education, I found that the voice of these lessons could be magnified, multiplied and melded through education to further the very aims they represent.

Today, as a leader in higher education, my lived experiences implicate my leadership in everything I do. Building consensus rather than directing; seeking common ground rather than slipping into the chasms that can divide us; running the marathon of leadership and legacy, rather than the sprint of quick fix and fabrication; and always knitting into the moral imperative of what is right, what is just and what will provide the opportunity for all to find not just a seat, but a voice at the table.

How do you use your leadership platform to inspire and empower students, faculty and staff to dream big and pursue their goals? What inspires you to do this important work, day in and day out?

Most of the time I enjoy the privilege of forgetting my personal identity and focusing on the leadership of CSUF. I work, play, participate and wade into the Titan community focused on the future we seek and charting a path that will assure that we reach that destination. And then the signposts come: I catch a glimpse of my hands on the keyboard and realize they are as brown as Dad’s. I speak with a student who is intent on and demanding equity and opportunity for their community and I see my heart reflected in their eyes. I watch the first-generation student crossing the quad, backpack filled not only with books and computer, but also with Mom and Dad, sisters and brothers, and I can sense the palpable yearning to belong. These signposts and markers implicate and vindicate. They move and motivate. And with that motivation, with that sense of urgency and purpose, I renew my attempt to lead and empower all in our community—faculty, staff and students—to not only dream big, but actualize those dreams.

Members of the Titan community regularly ask me about my job: What is it you actually do? I tell them that with infrastructure, housing, energy, retail, construction, contracts, transportation, law enforcement, marketing, communications, etcetera, I run a medium-sized city of almost 50,000 people. And then there is our business, our calling of education. But really, amongst all the administration, finance, philanthropy, enrollment management and more, the real job is to inspire. To inspire all in our community to personal success, sure.  But just as important, to inspire us to cultivate and build the success for all in our community. To not only be the best that we each can be, but to ensure that all members of our community have that same opportunity. For me, that is both the definition and definer of successful leadership for our university and, as such, for me as its presi​dent.

​ Richard Yao, CSU Channel Islands President
First Person of Color to Lead CSUCI

A​s one of a small number of APIDA university presidents in the U.S., what motivated you to keep pursuing new and higher roles when you didn’t see people like yourself in leadership positions?

The students have been my motivation since the beginning of my career. I was motivated by and pursued positions that served underrepresented students, including our APIDA students and our first-generation students. As I came into leadership roles in higher education, I began to better understand the magnitude of being an APIDA-identifying leader. I recognize now that I stand on the shoulders of those who came before me, who carved the path to allow me to be in this position. I recognize the responsibility I have to represent our APIDA community, and that recognition starts with our students. Representation matters and engaging with our APIDA community reminds me of how we can further support and serve our APIDA students.

How does your unique APIDA heritage and your lived experiences shape your leadership style?

While growing up, my family didn’t talk about what it means to be APIDA, and we didn't discuss race and ethnicity and the impact it had on our individual life experiences. Then growing up in settings that were not diverse, and not having those developmental conversations about identity, I experienced so much turmoil. It wasn't until recently that I recognized how much of my struggle stemmed from a lack of understanding and clarity of what being APIDA meant to me.

I recognize how everyone has their own path to learning to appreciate their racial identities, and now that I have a better understanding of the necessity of talking about our narratives, experiences and intersecting identities, I hope to help facilitate those discussions on our campus. Knowing that we all must challenge ourselves to take that journey, and that a leader's responsibility is to facilitate movement on that journey—fulfilling diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) goals along the way—influences my leadership style. Individual actions help us advance toward our DEIA goals, which in turn facilitates the systemic and policy level changes that are required for long-term change. Everyone must be willing to take the journey to better understand themselves and others through DEIA work.

How do you use your leadership platform to inspire and empower students, faculty and staff to dream big and pursue their goals? What inspires you to do this important work, day in and day out?

I recognize how important it is to model behavior for our students. How I navigate and cope with adversity, continue to learn and grow as a leader and communicate with others are all part of that process of facilitating others on their leadership journey. I need to be right there with them, taking that extra step to offer support and empathy with all members of our campus community and beyond. This also leads to discussing how not everyone is going to agree when a decision is made, but if we can have an open conversation about the rationale, context and thoughtfulness behind these difficult decisions, we can come to a respectful resolution that builds those partnerships and makes us stronger.

The students inspire me every day, and their success is at the forefront of my mind. I am deeply aware of the magnitude of this position and how my leadership impacts our students' success. Our campus partners' hard work and dedication inspires my work, and these opportunities for collaboration across divisions maintain that inspiration. The ability for our students to feel a sense of belonging and pride in our university, and that their identities are valued and embraced, is the greatest inspiration as president.

The CSU partners with APIDA communities to increase the college preparation, enrollment and graduation rates of those students across the state of California. Learn more about these efforts.​

​With a network of four million​ California State University alumni across the world, there are almost 50,000 CSU alumni living in the New York tri-state and DC Metro areas alone. On April 28, alumni from the region joined university leadership for an evening of virtual networking, hosted by the CSU Chancellor's Office and CSU campus alumni associations.

The event kicked off with California State University, Northridge's President Erika Beck introducing a distinguished surprise alumni guest: Mr. Douglas Emhoff, Second Gentleman of the United States (CSUN '87, Communication Studies).

Mr. Emhoff reflected on his experience attending a CSU and how a degree from the nation's largest four-year public university influenced his life and contributed to his professional success.

“If I did not have the opportunity to go to CSUN, I don't think I could have gone to college. And if I had not gone to college, I wouldn't have been able to go to law school and build the career that I built," Emhoff said. “So thank God for the Cal State system and CSUN and all the millions of students who are able to have access to higher education in our great state."

Emhoff is the proud husband of Vice President Kamala Harris and a devoted father. He was a prominent entertainment lawyer for nearly 30 years, building off his undergrad degree in communication studies from CSUN in 1987. As the first Second Gentleman of the United States, Emhoff has devoted his time to the causes of justice, equality, human rights and promoting interreligious understanding. “CSUN is exceptionally proud of our Matador and his enduring support in matters of common cause," said President Beck.

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​Emhoff remarked that the lessons he learned while at CSUN instilled in him a work ethic and a passion for entertainment, media and communications, which then led to his career as an entertainment lawyer, and now as a part-time entertainment professor of law at Georgetown University.

During a Q&A session with attendees, Emhoff emphasized the importance of alumni and students to stay engaged with the university and their communities.

“Some of the major issues that we have—climate, voting—will impact younger people and they need to get and stay engaged right now. And I do everything I can to encourage that," he said. “I would encourage everyone to be involved, stay involved, mentor and give back."

In closing, Emhoff said, “My world has changed, but I'm just still a kid from the Valley who went to CSUN."

President Beck responded: “You are such a powerful example of the transformative nature of a CSU education."

CSU alumni make up a global network that is over four million strong. As ambassadors to the nation and world, our alumni demonstrate the power of possibility that comes with a CSU degree. Learn more about the impact of the remarkable alumni of the CSU's 23 campuses.

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In March 2022, the CSU Board of Trustees approved the removal of the SAT and ACT standardized tests from undergraduate admissions processes. The decision followed the nearly two years during the COVID-19 pandemic when submitting those test scores was not required for CSU applicants.

“The decision by the Board of Trustees aligns with the California State University’s mission of access and our efforts to provide high-quality college degrees for students of all backgrounds,” says April Grommo, Ed.D., assistant vice chancellor for Enrollment Management Services. “We are eliminating a high-stakes test that can cause great stress on students and their families and does not add any additional predictive value over high school GPA. The CSU being test-free will better meet the needs of our future students.”

The CSU's Admission Advisory Council (AAC) is now developing final recommendations for how to reconfigure the university’s minimum eligibility index used for admissions, with a final decision expected later in the spring.

Before the pandemic, the CSU admissions process relied on a minimum eligibility index that calculated a score based on applicants’ high school “a-g” GPA (minimum of 2.0 for California high school graduates, 2.45 for non-California residents) and SAT/ACT test scores. California high school graduates who earned a 2.0-2.49 GPA (2.45-2.99 for non-California residents) would be eligible with high test scores.

Beginning in fall 2020 after the onset of COVID-19, the CSU moved to test-free admissions for the incoming class of fall 2021, with eligibility being based on GPA alone (minimum 2.5 for California high school graduates, 3.0 for non-California residents). Campuses could then choose to individually review applicants with a 2.0-2.49 GPA, or 2.47 to 2.99 respectively, using multi-factor admissions criteria—a combination of 21 additional factors like first-generation status or employment that differed by campus.​ In addition, impacted campuses or programs could conduct a further review with the supplemental factors. The CSU application was adjusted to support multi-factor admissions.

T​he new index will continue to use applicants’ high school GPA as the primary factor in the formula, but will incorporate secondary factors to replace the test scores. These may include completion of college preparatory coursework beyond the minimum requirements; school context, such as the percentage of students receiving free/reduced-prices meals; and other student attributes or activities like extracurriculars, community engagement or first-generation status.

In addition to reworking the index, the final changes to the admissions process will refine the supplemental factors impacted campuses and programs use in multi-factor admissions.

Future Applications

Prospective students will not see any change in applying to the CSU with this decision. There will still be a section on the application where they can submit SAT and ACT scores, alongside AP and IB scores, but the test results will only be used for college level math and English course placement for admitted students.

However, students will again be expected to have graded “a-g” courses. The CSU accepted “credit” or “pass” grades for classes completed from the spring 2020 term to the summer 2021 term.

Rolling Out the Change

Following a final decision, use of the new minimum eligibility index will be phased in over the next few years.

Current high school juniors: Nothing will change for the incoming class of fall 2023, applying in fall 2022. The index will still be based on the applicants’ high school GPA, with the option of submitting ACT and SAT scores.

Current high school sophomores: For the incoming class of fall 2024, the admissions office will calculate the results of both indices—the old using GPA and optional test scores, and the new index still being developed. If a student qualifies for admission under either index, they will be admitted.

Current high school freshmen: The incoming class of fall 2025 will only be considered under the new CSU minimum eligibility index.

Check back for updates when a final decision on the minimum eligibility index is made. Until then, explore the proposals, research and FAQs regarding the discontinued use of the ACT and SAT in admissions, or review admission requirements at Cal State Apply.

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In June 2020, the CSU Council of Chiefs of Police pledged to implement recommendations from President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing in response to a public outcry for police reform and accountability. Recommendations from the 21st Century Policing report are designed to help communities and law enforcement agencies build trust and collaboration while continuing to reduce crime, and are organized around six key pillars:

• Building Trust and Legitimacy

• Policy and Oversight

• Technology and Social Media

• Community Policing and Crime Reduction

• Officer Training and Education

• Officer Safety and Wellness

​CSU police chiefs, officers and University Police Department (UPD) staff at each of the CSU's 23 campuses are committed to implementing a progressive and thoughtful approach to 21st century policing and have established six working groups to develop, execute and track actions that move departments toward that goal.

The overarching goal: Ensure CSU campuses are places where students and employees feel safe, welcome and valued. Some strategies to achieve this include improving cultural education for officers, enforcing accountability, collaborating with community leaders and engaging in the lives of campus community members beyond emergency situations.

“University police departments have a guardian philosophy," said Stanislaus State University UPD Chief and CSU Chief of Chiefs Clint Strode in a campus announcement for the University Policing Advisory Board (UPAB) in January 2021. “Our goal is to have students, faculty and staff come here and be safe."

Renewing Trust

In an effort to increase transparency and rebuild trust with campus communities, the CSU has created a 21st Century Policing website as part of the CSU's Transparency and Accountability sites.

Campus Police and Safety Advisory Committees have also been established at each campus to review police and safety matters that affect students, faculty, staff and visitors, and to help implement community policing principles. These committees examine campuswide UPD policies and procedures in a more holistic way and recommend ways to enhance campus policing.

Police chiefs work with their campus Academic Senate, the campus' President's Office and student-led organizations to select members for the council who represent a diverse group of voices from across the university and local community.

At California State University, Bakersfield, the Police Advisory Council is comprised of the Chief Diversity Officer, two Academic Senate representatives, four student repr​esentatives, two staff members, a community member chosen by CSU Bakersfield President Lynnette Zelezny, rotating UPD members and one facilitator, CSUB UPD​ Chief Marty Williamson.

“We're working to reinforce community policing strategies, and the advisory council is helping us identify ways to promote this," said Williamson.​

Increasing Visibility

The CSUB council is focused on gaining a deeper understanding of the role of UPD on campus to provide informed recommendations. Council meetings shed light on officer hiring processes, training, policies and equipment. Chief​​ Williamson even created a virtual reality experience to demonstrate what it's like to handle emergency situations.

"I was most impressed to learn just how well-qualified these officers are; the number of trainings they regularly​ participate in and the hiring process they go through just to have the opportunity to serve in the positi​on," said Police Advisory Council member and CSUB mental health counselor Michael Harville, Ph.D. “I would say I have a great deal more respect for them than I did before joining the council."

At the end of 2021, the council developed a handful of suggestions to improve relations between UPD and the campus community, beginning with the need for better communication of UPD actions and resources. Council members say a deeper understanding of everything UPD does will improve public perception and make students feel more welcome.

In response, CSUB police​ are updating their communications plans, beefing up social media outreach and working with Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) to conduct student surveys about the awareness of UPD programs and various communications. The council has also identified areas where UPD can get involved in students' lives in a positive way, like participating in events hosted by student organizations and arranging informal meet and greets.

“It's our job to reach out and build that bridge—build that trust—and make our campus community members feel included and valued​," said Williamson.

Chief Williamson said he is also requiring officers to spend more of their time on foot or bike patrol, rather than in a marked car, making a concerted effort to greet students and employees and familiarize themselves with the campus community. 

“Many of our students have had negative experiences with police officers in their communities, but when they come to CSUB, they have opportunities to engage with somebody in a uniform in a positive, helpful way—and maybe do some healing," said Dr. Harville.

The CSUB council continues to meet monthly and will make additional recommendations in the coming year.​​

Building on Prior Work

Even before C​ampus Police and Safety Advisory Committees were established across the system, many of these strategies already existed, with several campuses having preexisting task forces.

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Learn A​bout the CSU's K9 Officers

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, for example, formed the Police Advisory Task Force (PATF) at the request of President Soraya Coley, in early 2020 and released a report last spring that outlined three key themes: Increasing officers' visibility on campus, reducing police response time and building rapport between officers and the students they serve. In fall 2021, Cal Poly Pomona held a Campus Conversation webinar to address the themes listed in the report and announce the formation of a standing Police Advisory Board.

“This is a pivotal moment for policing, not only on our campus, but in the nation, with law enforcement agencies looking to forge stronger connections to the communities they serve and rebuild trust," President Coley said in a message to the campus community.

Learn more about how the CSU is instituting meaningful change and improvements across the university by visiting the 21st Century Policing website.​