Intermediate and Long-Term Planning

Following is a summary of what we are doing to navigate the tensions of a short-term crisis with our long-term needs, which include growing our academic offerings; accreditation; building more regional academic partnerships; and capital projects.

Academic Master Plan

As previously noted, we recently submitted our updated Academic Master Plan and accomanying narrative, which included 18 new degree proposals, and we anticipate up to an additional 9 degree proposals to be submitted later this year. If approved, these new academic programs will add to the limited number of majors currently in existence (28), allowing us to expand opportunities to deliver on our core academic mission, which aims to:

  • Support a largely first-generation, historically underserved student population by leveraging diversity as a transformational force and intentionally advancing “servingness” by developing institutional capacity to be student-ready, shifting our teaching and learning landscape to being culturally responsive, and removing structural barriers to student success.
  • Provide impactful hands-on education through high-quality classroom instruction and experiential learning such as internships, international opportunities, student research, and community-based engagement.
  • Prepare graduates capable of generating new knowledge, equipped to advocate for equity and justice, competent to lead inclusively with diverse populations, and equipped for careers in our regional workforce.
  • Advance faculty as active scholars and artists, as passionate teachers who adopt effective pedagogies and learning technologies, and as professionals committed to the continuous improvement of our academic programs.
  • Educate students to become leading environmental citizens who will contribute to co-creating a sustainable campus and advancing a green economy through interdisciplinary, environmentally focused, and place-based curricula.
  • Lead the region as a force for the public good by affirming our commitment to civic responsibility, our role in supporting our students as civic leaders, and our partnerships with regional nonprofits, governments, and businesses to transform our region and reduce social inequities.

Perhaps most importantly, our strategic vision for CSUCI involves a more focused, data-informed, and intentional emphasis on meeting our regional workforce and industry needs, as well as an emphasis on the priorities outlined in Governor Newsom’s budget compact. While we fully recognize the difficulties of expanding academic programs when faced with the significant revenue deficits and general fund appropriation cut as outlined earlier, we cannot emphasize enough the importance of this work in relation to CSUCI’s long-term vision and success. Our long-term enrollment goals and ability to serve our region at an exceptionally high level depends, first and foremost, on the range and breadth of our academic programs. Our success is critical to the region’s, making development of new academic programs essential at this time. To bridge our near-term realities and fiscal challenges with that vision, we are now implementing substantial and comprehensive cost mitigation strategies while ensuring that our planning processes and re-allocation of existing resources are focused on CSUCI’s long-term capacity to meet the needs of the people, communities, and employers of our region. In recognition of the importance of expanding our academic programs, we have also set aside $10M of the McKenzie-Scott gift to support these endeavors.

An accompanying aspect of this work involves an examination and evaluation of developing and growing our online, hybrid, and/or low-residency programs that target “non-traditional” students who require flexibility and convenience without sacrificing academic excellence.  We have ample data demonstrating that our current students desire more online course offerings, but with a longer-term strategic perspective in mind, CSUCI must incorporate an expanded focus on how to serve and develop programs to meet the demand of this growing student demographic.
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WASC Thematic Pathways for Reaffirmation

Our WASC Thematic Pathway for Reaffirmation is a vital component in strengthening our commitment to academic excellence, especially as it relates to the continued evolution of our institutional identity and strategic vision moving forward. The WASC Reaffirmation Steering Committee has been actively working to engage our campus in critical conversations about academic program development, assessment and program review—all of which roll into accreditation. As part of this process, our Success and Inclusion for Graduate and Undergraduate Excellence (SIGUE) department will sponsor a series of workshops called CI@CI (Continuous Improvement @ CI) on program development, assessment and program review, and accreditation, respectively, throughout the semester—culminating in a celebration of continuous improvement at CSUCI with awards, research posters, and food. Academic program chairs, faculty working on program assessment, faculty developing new academic programs, and local curriculum committee members, along with related staff members and administrators, are asked to prioritize engagement in the CI@CI initiative in the Spring semester.
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Internship Expansion

CSUCI’s Institutional Mission-Based Learning Outcomes, grounded in interdisciplinary, community engagement, multicultural, and international perspectives directly align with preparing college graduates to enter the global workforce economy. Application of learning in real-world contexts is a necessary component for higher educational institutions to consider as a critical benchmark of workforce readiness. Methods to address the skills gap involve providing high-impact educational practices (e.g., internship programs, mentorship, and career education programs) to foster hands-on learning in the professional workplace setting (Workforce Readiness Consortium Project, 2006).

High impact career education experiences positively impact post-graduation career outcomes. For example, in 2019, CSUCI graduates who reported completing an internship were significantly more likely to have secured new employment (23%) than those who did not complete an internship (17%). Employers prefer hiring candidates with direct internship experience. In the NACE Job Outlook Survey (2017), employers ranked completing an internship as the number one attribute desired on a candidate’s resume followed by internship experience in their industry, major, and leadership role(s).

Internship completion correlates with an increase in retention and post-graduation success as evidenced by our 2019 Graduating Student Survey. More than half of respondents said that completing an internship affected career plans, major selection, academic course selection, and graduate school decisions. Completing an internship most impacted career plans, with 77% of respondents indicating that completing an internship affected this “A lot” or “Some”. Internships also affected major selection (50%), academic course selection (59%) and graduate school decisions (56%). Internships were positively correlated with securing new employment after graduation. Likewise, those who completed internships while at CSUCI were more likely to be accepted to graduate school, complete a research project, and participate in leadership activities across campus. Every student should have an opportunity to engage in an internship experience during their academic career. Between 2017-2020, however, only 19% of graduating students reported completing an internship (CSUCI Graduating Student Survey).

In Fall 2022, CSUCI secured donor support to invest in expanding internships at CSUCI resulting in a new Faculty Internship Coordinator who will liaison with Career Development and Alumni Engagement (CDAE) to broaden internships across all academic programs. Our long-term vision is to work in partnership with CDAE and Academic Affairs to implement the existing campus policy while outlining procedures in compliance with E.O. 1064. The purpose is to maximize the educational experiences of our students through academic credit internships while minimizing CSUCI’s liability exposure.
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Executive Director of Regional Educational Partnerships

One avenue we have pursued to further promote our long-term vision is the creation of our Executive Director of Regional Educational Partnerships, which focuses on the combination of experiential learning, career readiness, and increased institutional visibility through collaborative projects. Partnerships that we are actively promoting include those that provide recurring opportunities for CSUCI faculty and students to directly contribute to real-world problem-solving within the region, of which one major theme is environmental conservation and restoration. As an important example, we are forging a broad partnership with the Santa Barbara Zoo. This partnership will provide opportunities for collaboration with many of our academic programs, includes the placement of a Conservation Center on our main campus, and will help to raise public awareness of CSUCI.

CSUCI also has much to learn and much to gain through prioritizing outreach to rural communities in our service region. There are opportunities for educational partnerships in our region to develop around themes like sustainable agriculture, the importance of biodiversity, and learning how to live harmoniously and within the limits of the natural resources available to us. CSUCI is positioned in Ventura County, the nation's 11th largest county in crop value, and we have no programming to support the agricultural industry or the people’s career trajectories who work within it. An opening opportunity is in the creation of Career Technical Education (CTE) pathways and internships in this rich agricultural region. The creation of a beekeeping pipeline is a natural opportunity for disciplinary expertise (CSUCI) to join with agricultural industry leaders to create educational and internship opportunities for some of the students and families most closely connected to the land that sustains us.

Industry engagement is a key component for our service to the region. Maintaining existing partnerships with current employers, cultivating new relationships with employers, and ensuring the campus has a finger on the pulse of the evolving needs of our regional workforce is critical to our future and to the future of our service region. Outreach and representation on the CSUCI Workforce Development Board of Ventura County, Chambers of Commerce, Economic Development Boards, and other professional employer groups is a campus priority. Maintaining a consistent understanding of our regional employer hiring trends including candidate qualifications, skills, hiring plans, and market trends will contribute to our ability to adapt and respond to evolving employer needs.
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Capital Projects

No activity on campus more perfectly captures the tensions between the current drop-off in enrollment and subsequent budget scenario than new construction. New construction demonstrates our commitment and prioritization of the long-term success of CSUCI and plays such a significant role in facilitating growth on all levels. However, these investments must be balanced and considered within our current budget realities – weighing the need for immediate cuts and re-allocation of existing resources with the need to invest in facilities and programs that will ultimately drive enrollment growth. With that context in mind, Gateway Hall is fully funded and expected to be completed as planned, with an opening date of Summer 2025. Gateway Hall will create 80,000 square feet for student services and enrollment management, added instructional space, computer science and mechatronics labs, and the new home of Extended University.

In addition to Gateway Hall, our top capital and programming priority is our Early Childhood Care & Education Center, which is planned to be an early childhood educational laboratory school – and will expand high quality pre-school and childcare services available in Ventura County. In addition, with the new transitional kindergarten credentialing requirements on the horizon, we are developing the curriculum to fulfill the new workforce needs in TK education. Thanks to campus partners, community advocates, County leaders, State support through Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, and philanthropic efforts, we have raised almost $26M to date for this endeavor.
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