On Oct. 17 and 18, all 23 CSU university presidents joined Chancellor Timothy White and a number of other CSU leaders in Montezuma hall for the Graduation Initiative 2025 Symposium.
“The symposium is the time we come together to convene as a university community to focus on student success and to examine the question of what is required as an institution to achieve our graduation initiative 2025 goals,” Dr. James Minor, senior strategist for Academic Success and Inclusive Excellence said at the event.
The Graduation Initiative 2025 is a CSU-wide project that hopes to ensure all students have the opportunity to achieve their personal goals and graduate through the university system, according to a CSU press release.
Data released on Oct. 17 indicates the initiative has been successful in increasing graduation rates throughout the CSU system. According to a CSU press release, the four-year graduation rate for first-time freshmen has increased 6 percent since 2015, from 19.2 percent in 2015 to 25.4 percent in 2018.
White said while the point of the symposium was to explore new ways to approach the initiative’s goals, he wanted to emphasize an appreciation for the success it has seen thus far.
“This symposium is a way to explore these new ideas and consider fresh ways of achieving our goals,” White said. “But, it should also be a time of celebration as the CSU can really be proud of the progress we’re making.”
Another goal of the Graduation Initiative 2025 is to close equity gaps within the university system.
The data released on Oct. 17 also indicates an improvement in this area. The graduation rate gap between underrepresented students of color and their peers experienced decrease in the past year, lessening two percentage points from 12.2 percent in 2017 to 10.5 percent in 2018.
White said, while the numbers are important, they are not as important as the execution.
“It’s not about us just reaching certain percentages of certain students obtaining a degree in a certain amount of time,” White said. “Yes, that is an important illustration of our success that we can communicate to stakeholders, but it is the quality of the learning and the discovery environment that is driven by our faculties exacting expectations.”
White said, by focusing on these outcomes, the CSU is driving the nation’s future.
“We are driving California’s future and, therefore, we are driving America’s future,” White said. “Do not lose track of the importance of that outcome.”
