The CSU Network Blog
Our VOICES blog shares a range of perspectives on Network activities and topics related to equity and student success in the CSU.
The COVID-19 Caretaking Crisis: How Faculty Can Support Student Parents during Virtual Learning
By CSU Student Success Network Staff
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
By Thad Nodine and Kalifa Madden
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
By CSU Student Success Network Staff
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
By Kalifa Madden
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
By CSU Student Success Network Staff
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
By CSU Student Success Network Staff
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
By Thad Nodine
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
By Thad Nodine
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.
How Do CSU Advising Efforts Compare to National Approaches?
By Melinda Karp
September 2019
Earlier this year, the CSU Student Success Network released the second report from Destination Integration, its series on academic advising. The studies explore the perspectives of students, advisors, and administrators on advising and advising reform on CSU campuses. In reviewing the authors’ findings, I am intrigued by how closely they mirror the conclusions of national studies of advising and student services, which means that the CSU is not alone in the challenges it faces in seeking to make advising a more integrated experience for students. And if the challenges are not unique to the CSU, then neither are the solutions.
How Learning Across Systems Supports Middle Leadership
By Andrea Venezia; Rose Asera; and Bob Gabriner
July 2019
A new report by the Research and Planning Group (RP Group) of the California Community Colleges, struck a chord for several reasons. Not only was RP one of the inspirations for creating the CSU Student Success Network, the CSU Network’s Middle Leadership Academy is modeled after Leading from the Middle in the community colleges, and many community college colleagues generously helped get the CSU Network off the ground.