April 2024
The CSU has made substantial progress in expanding its basic needs infrastructure over the past few years, and faculty and staff can serve key roles in helping students learn about and access emergency services to help address their housing, food, and other needs. These services are particularly important given the difficulties students are facing in paying their bills while staying enrolled in the university.
March 2024
For many low-income CSU students, stopping out of college to accept a full-time job can appear appealing. Many of these students are taking on debt for the first time, working odd hours in a part-time job, studying when they can, and worrying about paying for food, rent, books, and other necessities. Stopping out to accept a full-time job can bring these students a bigger paycheck than their part-time job provides, with the potential of supporting family members, paying off debts, and being able to pay for basic living expenses. With a job market that’s booming now, why should these students stay in college for multiple years and risk graduating at a time when the economy may be heading downward?
March 2024
Jeanine Cunningham, Research Manager at EdInsights and the Network, discusses her professional trajectory and dedication to educational research shaped by her sociology background. Her journey, beginning as a graduate student passionate about social research, has evolved into a role where she leverages her expertise to address equity and access in higher education. Through her role, Jeanine aims to empower educational leaders and institutions with the tools necessary for meaningful change, reflecting a deep understanding of the interplay between education, policy, and societal dynamics.
March 2024
The Network announces Dr. Shonda Goward, Associate Vice Provost of Undergraduate Advising and Success at San José State University, as its new Director. In this role, Dr. Goward will lead vision and strategy for the Network, in conjunction with her existing duties as the Network’s Advisory Board Chair, a position she was elected to in 2023.
February 2024
Nearly half of all California State University (CSU) students are from low-income families. With the rising costs of living, these students face a dilemma each semester: whether to continue to pay the costs of college or stop out and pursue a full-time job. This blog provides an introduction to a series that identifies actions that faculty and staff can take to encourage their programs and campuses to address the needs of low-income students and support them in finishing their degree. Look for the next blog in the March newsletter followed by additional blogs in subsequent months.
December 2023
To conclude the Knowledge Center blog series on supporting first-generation college students within the California State University (CSU) system, we sat down with two members of the CSU Student Success Network (Network) Advisory Board, Susanna Jones, Ph.D., M.S.W., at San Francisco State and Nadine Kelley, Ed.D, at Sacramento State, to discuss their experiences in working with first-generation students and approaches to fostering student success.
August 2023
Dr. Shonda Goward, associate vice provost of undergraduate advising and success at San José State University, was elected as chair by the advisory board of the California State University Student Success Network (CSU Network). Dr. Goward has been an advocate for student success throughout her career, and a leader in the CSU since serving as director of the Student Center for Academic Achievement at Cal State East Bay from 2020 to 2021. At the CSU Network, she was director of convenings prior to becoming board chair. Dr. Goward has an Ed.D. in higher education administration from The George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
June 2023
In 2017, Jennifer McCune was the coordinator for the Academic Advising and Resource Center at CSU Bakersfield when she was asked to participate with others from her campus in a series of weekend sessions to tackle developmental math reform. She jumped at the opportunity and found herself at the CSU Network’s Middle Leadership Academy.
April 2023
To be student ready is to be prepared to match institutional support to student need. Just as there is not a singular definition of first-generation, there is not a single intervention that can reach the needs of all first-generation students on all campuses.