There is so much to accomplish, and with you, we can get there!
Community History
Historically, the driving force behind the founding of California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI) was an engaged community. CSUCI grew out of a 40-year community-led effort to bring a comprehensive public university to the Ventura County region. It was this region that CSUCI was founded to educate and enhance.
Today, the campus of 1930s Spanish and Mission-style architecture has 6,943 students and is truly local-serving: 51 percent of all students enrolled in fall 2020 were from Ventura County, 24 percent came from neighboring Los Angeles County, and most other students hailed from other nearby counties. The makeup of the student body also closely matches the demographics of Ventura County’s college-age population, with 56 percent of CSUCI students identifying as Hispanic or Latinx in fall 2020, 25 percent identifying as white, 6 percent identifying as Asian, and 2 percent identifying as black. Designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in 2010, CSUCI continues to invest in supporting a college-going community.
By fostering a college-going community in Ventura County, and by advancing its purpose as an HSI, CSUCI is providing a path to higher education for thousands of students, many of whom, 62% in fall 2020, are the first in their families to be on a pathway to obtaining a baccalaureate degree.
CSUCI is among the top 5 colleges and universities in the nation in terms of the Social Mobility Index (SMI). The SMI measures the extent to which a college or university educates economically disadvantaged students at lower tuition rates and graduates them into promising careers. CSUCI is ranked number 5 out of 1,458 universities in the “Social Mobility Index” (SMI). As the newest CSU, we are the only public 4-year institution of higher education in Ventura County, a county with the potential to serve a large population of future students, historically underrepresented in higher education. As such, we have the opportunity to effect positive change in a region of more than one million people.
If you find these opportunities attracting, we want you to come to CSUCI and channel your potential. We believe that you can make a difference at CSUCI. Become part of our faculty and CSUCI community. Nuestra universidad es su universidad!