Voices are briefs and interviews that highlight “bright spots” in the CSU and examples of middle leadership across the system and within Network activities.
Five Fast Tips for Enhancing Your Conference Proposal
May 2021
The CSU Student Success Network is excited to have you for our annual conference, ‘The Time Is Now: Forging New Visions for Equity in the CSU’. We are a few weeks away from our June 4 deadline for conference proposals and we’ve received some exciting submissions so far! For those of you who are still working on your submission, here are five fast tips to enhance your proposal!
Navigating Uncertainty Together: Spring 2021 Strategies for Practitioners
April 2021
Building on our summer 2020 conversation series, nearly 60 individuals from 17 campuses came together virtually on February 11 to participate in another Navigating Uncertainty Together session. The self-moderated session enabled cross-campus groups of individuals in similar roles to share their experiences over the past year, learn from one another, and collectively identify equity-minded approaches to challenges they are facing in their work. Below, we share some of the themes and strategies that emerged from the conversations.
The COVID-19 Caretaking Crisis: How Faculty Can Support Student Parents during Virtual Learning
March 2021
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), approximately 22% of students in U.S. community colleges and public four-year universities are parenting at least one dependent under 18 years old. This is a significant number of students whose lives have been extraordinarily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered schools and daycares across the country, making student parents responsible for the full-time caretaking and education of their children–on top of their own educational pursuits. How, then, are faculty to respond to these new realities in ways that are equitable within this new virtual learning environment?
Equity Builds from Student Voices: A CSU Student Plenary on Creating a Student-Ready Campus
December 2020
A panel of students moderated and presented at the opening session of the first annual statewide conference by the CSU Student Success Network, an independent network facilitated by EdInsights. Representing campuses from Northern,…
CSU Faculty and Staff Share Strategies to Support Students Online
October 2020
CSU faculty, staff, and administrators are using a range of creative practices to increase student engagement, facilitate equitable remote learning, and broaden access to virtual student supports. In a series of online conversations hosted by the CSU Student Success Network in July and August, over 150 faculty and staff across 21 CSU campuses shared strategies and learned from each other about student-centered online practices. In the spirit of navigating this unique year together, we want to disseminate the ideas, tips, and practical strategies our colleagues shared during the sessions.
Supporting Leadership Development in the CSU: A Q and A with Susan M. Baxter
July 2020
Susan M. Baxter, Ph.D. , former executive director of CSUPERB (CSU Program for Education & Research in Biotechnology), joined the Advisory Board of the Student Success Network in 2016 and stepped down from the board when she retired from CSUPERB in May 2020. In this interview, Susan identifies why she stayed engaged with the Network, how it influenced her work at CSUPERB, and how it supports faculty and staff in the CSU.
Navigating Uncertainty Together
June 2020
As one of EdInsights’ statewide initiatives, the CSU Student Success Network is increasing our efforts to connect people across the system to act to eliminate racism and racial inequities in our system.
An Update on the Coronavirus [COVID-19] and its Impact on Upcoming Events
April 2020
The Coronavirus [COVID-19] has had an impact on all of our work, including our Network events. We are a team that is dedicated to gathering people together to share, learn, experiment, and build community. Toward those ends, we are rethinking and redesigning our meetings, including creating virtual gathering spaces. For those who are interested and able to participate, here is what we know about the future of our planned events.
Laying a Foundation for Equity Work on Campus: A Profile of the Chico State Team at the CSU Network’s Middle Leadership Academy
October 2019
When a team from Chico State arrived at the CSU Network’s Middle Leadership Academy in 2018-19, the team members had ambitious plans but no specific project to address equity issues on campus. At the Academy, they examined student data and began to focus on correlations between equity gaps in graduation rates and DFW rates during students’ first two years. They found that historically underserved students, compared with other students, were more likely to get a DFW, even accounting for incoming high-school grade point averages. Back on campus, they decided that their first step was to lay a broad foundation to support equity work.
Mathematics and Equity: The Transformation of a “Middle Leader” in the CSU
October 2019
Before David Zeigler became chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Sacramento State University, he had not considered how remedial education policies might be an impediment to student success.
“We had a very draconian system,” Zeigler said. “It was not friendly at all to students. The tragic story is that it was our system and so I supported it.”
Zeigler’s “enlightenment,” as he calls it, came about through a series of professional development experiences, research, and conversations with peers, including participating in the Middle Leadership Academy. As chair, he began to attend cross-disciplinary gatherings associated with teaching and learning generally. That’s when he began to shepherd the department through a major transformation in how it supports incoming students in math.