The CSU Student Success Network Conference Schedule

Sustaining Momentum for Equity and Change in the CSU

Friday, October 14

Plenary 3 || 9:00AM-10:15AM

Session 1a || 10:30-12:00

Ongoing Support: A Peer-Based Writing Support Program

Amanda Tomanek, Academic English Language Specialist, CSUSM

Skylar Rivas, Tutor, CSUSM

Kaitlyn Johnstone, Tutor, CSUSM

Zaira Velasquez, Alumna, CSUSM

Kami Howell, Student, CSUSM

AJ Jackson, Student, CSUSM

Ongoing Support is a program in the Writing Center where students needing assistance beyond occasional appointments are able to create a plan for the semester which often includes weekly one-on-one sessions with the same tutor all semester. This panel will share the implementation, adjustments, and results of the program. Writing Center tutors as well as students who participated in the program will share their experiences live in the session. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions and consider how they might use elements of the program in their own contexts to empower students.

Session 1b || 10:30-12:00

 

Putting Education to Work: Innovation Collaboration Leads to Increased Student Success

Dr. Elaine Collins, Director of UNVS 101, SJSU

Dr. Melanie McNeil, Professor of Chemical Engineering, SJSU

Diana Phuong, Director of Braven Bay Area

San José State University and the nonprofit Braven have formed an innovative collaboration to reimagine how to help students persist in college and enter the workforce strong. We will explore how this program supports underrepresented students towards college graduation and a strong first job or graduate/professional school. To date, 98% of Braven’s SJSU student participants have graduated or are persisting towards graduation. Additionally, 64% of those participants that have now graduated, 351 students, have landed strong first jobs or have been accepted into graduate school (19% above the national average for public institutions serving Black and Latinx students). This session will highlight the key strategies that help close the equity gap: providing students with a sense of belonging on campus through a peer cohort model, a safe environment to develop and practice career-readiness skills, and coaching from professionals in building goals and agency towards reaching them.

Session 2a || 1:00-2:30

It’s an Honor just to be Asian: Supporting Young AANAPI Professionals in the Field of Criminology

Gaonoucci Belle Vang (she/her/hers), Student Success Project Coordinator, Fresno State

Samantha Bautista, Work-based Learning Experiences Project Coordinator, Fresno State

Fresno State was awarded the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving-Institution (AANAPISI) grant to increase the student success of AANAPI undergraduates in the Department of Criminology. Although criminology is the largest major on campus, there is a disproportionate enrollment of AANAPI-identifying students. In the midst of xenophobia, it’s more important than ever to support AANAPI-identifying students in their journey to success by creating more equitable opportunities. This panel discussion will guide attendees through two programs within the initiative: Work-based Learning Experiences and Peer Mentors, and the panelists will address the importance of supporting AANAPI students to become young professionals and representatives in the field of criminology.

Session 2b || 1:00-2:30

The Health Assistance Fund: Increasing access and improving wellness

Dr. Lissa Lim, Licensed Psychologist, CSU San Marcos

Katie Ramos, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, CSU San Marcos

Cathy Nguyen, Certified Health Education Specialist, CSU San Marcos

The Health Assistance Fund was created to reduce financial barriers students face in accessing medical, mental health, and wellness services they need both on and off campus. Panelists will share the importance and value of this fund, the triumphs and trials of creating, managing and sustaining the fund, as well as share strategies for establishing a Health Assistance Fund across all CSUs. The results of the first year of this program will be shared, including data about the demographic of students served, the services students requested which highlight student needs, the impact of the fund, and feedback students shared about their experience accessing the fund. The panelists will also engage in a Q&A to help others strategize how to create a fund at their campus.

Session 3a || 2:45-4:15

Multilingual Publishing: Making Room for Everyone Means Making Room for Everyone's Language(s)

Marcos Hernandez, Lecturer and Toyon Faculty Advisor, Cal Poly Humboldt

Alannah Guevara, Toyon Managing Editor, Cal Poly Humboldt

Kiran Dunning, Co-Managing Editor for Toyon Multilingual Literary Magazine, Cal Holy Humboldt

At Toyon, Cal Poly Humboldt’s student-run multilingual literary magazine, we know creating a publication that both respects and engages with readers and creators outside of the English-speaking world is a challenge. In recent years, we have started the work to become a multilingual publication to undercut the predominately white hegemony that is the English-speaking literary world. We strive to recognize diversity across disciplines, cultures, and regional boundaries, and our editorial practice emphasizes inclusion, intersectionality, and multilingualism. Through firsthand experience, we are learning what it takes to create and sustain a multilingual publication. Our presentation will inform attendees of the risks, possibilities, and limitations of centering multilingual and translingual modes of expression in campus media and publishing. We will discuss the challenges we have faced, as well as the benefits that come with shifting students and faculty into a multilingual mindset. Reshaping our ideas and addressing our internal biases around language now can lead to a more equitable future for all of our students as they transition into their professional lives, no matter the number of languages they understand.

Session 3b || 2:45-4:15

Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEM Research Experiences with the Remote Supergroup for Chemistry Undergraduates

Chantal Stieber, Associate Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Cal Poly Pomona

The Remote Supergroup for Chemistry Undergraduates (RSCU) was created in 2020 to offer a virtual experience to undergraduates whose summer laboratory research was cancelled. The objectives of RSCU were (1) to engage students in scientific communication opportunities, (2) to inform students of further educational and career pathways, (3) to increase awareness and discussion of equity issues in science, and (4) to foster a scientific community across institutions. Each week there was a equity minute, a panel or keynote presentation, and breakout room discussions. Post-RSCU surveys indicate significant success in achieving the RSCU objectives. This session will discuss using digital tools to enhance learning, strategies to support diverse student populations, the achievement of equitable opportunities, and adapting the RSCU model to other disciplines and across the CSU.

Session 4a || 4:30-5:00

Closing

Dr. Larissa Mercado-López, Conference Director

Dr. Bianca Mothé, Network Director

Dr. Ioakim Boutakidis, Network Grants Development Specialist, CSU Fullerton

Past Conferences

Questions?

Contact: Larissa Mercado-López, Annual Conference Director