The CSU Student Success Network complements other student success efforts underway in the California State University (CSU) by offering a forum for sustained, cross-campus, cross-role, professional learning opportunities for “middle leaders”—faculty, staff, and administrators at the campus level who work closely with students.
The CSU Student Success Network completed its first year of operation as a state-supported effort (in addition to funding from the Kresge and College Futures Foundations). The main areas of focus for 2016-17 were to develop a sound infrastructure for the Network (such as building relationships, creating an appropriate staffing structure, and hiring an evaluator) and operationalizing each strand of work.
In its first year, the Network established an operational core including an Interim Advisory Board, financial systems, and a performance management system—and cultivated key relationships systemwide. The Network also made progress across all core work strands including communications, research, Student Success Labs, and convenings.