University leaders examine growth strategies at SDSU-IV
CALEXICO — Agreeing upon a clear need for San Diego State University-Imperial Valley to offer a full-time undergraduate program, leaders for the university are now discussing how to make that happen.
Keenly aware of the many challenges rural communities face, particularly as it relates to meeting their higher education needs, SDSU President Adela de la Torre convened a meeting in San Diego with Interim Provost Joseph Johnson, Associate Vice President Norah Shultz and SDSU-IV Dean Gregorio Ponce to explore the possibilities for change at the Imperial Valley campus.
The discussion used as a point of reference an open letter Ponce shared with the community in December. Entitled “Growing and Transforming for our Community,” the letter outlined a vision to encourage more Valley residents to get their credentials, undergraduate degrees and graduate degrees locally.
Currently, about 50 percent of Imperial County high school graduates in Imperial County who meet eligibility requirements for either a University of California or California State University system school do not enroll in a school within either system,” Ponce said.
“For instance, in 2017 there were 784 Imperial County high school graduates who met UC/CSU eligibility requirements, and about half of these students will not enroll in a UC or CSU,” he said. “Our thinking is to recruit up to 50 of these students to enroll at SDSU-IV.”
Moving forward on offering a full-time undergraduate program in Imperial Valley is a top priority. The key, President de la Torre told the others at the meeting, is to create an innovative interdisciplinary undergraduate program at SDSU-IV that will prepare a new generation of Imperial County students to become leaders and help transform the face of Imperial County.
Ponce said important, too, is highlighting in this new program the many strengths of SDSU-IV that make the university experience of its students akin to one in a small “liberal arts college.”
“The experience of SDSU-IV students is already akin to a small liberal arts college in many ways,” Ponce explained, “small class sizes, research opportunities for students to work with faculty, study abroad experiences, internships, et cetera. The new program will add another dimension to this ‘small liberal arts college’ experience by doing so on a full-time basis for four years using a cohort model.”
Initial recruitment goals would be 30 to 50 students per cohort, he said.
Fundamental to creating an innovative interdisciplinary degree undergraduate program will be the various majors that will form the academic core of this new program, Ponce said. It will be important as well to introduce new majors in areas such as STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) and general business at SDSU-IV to complement the current degrees already in place.
Ponce added it is also critical that all students are engaged in leadership opportunities, through new options in general education coursework, internships, or perhaps via SDSU’s successful leadership minor.
De la Torre is scheduled to visit the SDSU-IV campus in October, Ponce said. In the meantime, conversations will continue to take place to begin drafting the details of a proposal for this new and innovative interdisciplinary undergraduate program for SDSU-IV.
“President de la Torre and Interim Provost Johnson are deeply committed to the university shared governance process and welcome the opportunity for SDSU-IV faculty, staff, students and the Dean’s Advisory Board members to discuss this proposal candidly with Dean Ponce so as to provide recommendations to Interim Provost Johnson,” the university said in a release. “Thereafter, upon finalizing the details of the new program, the university approval process will begin before submitting the proposal to the Chancellor’s Office.”
“The university has a formal process to add new programs, and once we have our proposal ready, we will follow the process accordingly,” Ponce explained. “We have this academic year to get all approvals in place so we can then open up the program to eligible high school graduates.”
As all of this moves forward, Ponce said he will continue working with current and potential donors to secure funds both to support the many facets of this new program and to add at least one new building at the Brawley campus to sustain SDSU-IV’s anticipated growth in the coming years.
“Currently, our plan is to raise at least $5,000,000 for a new building in Brawley to support the anticipated growth in students and personnel,” Ponce said.
Funds will be needed to establish scholarships ($300,000 per year) and/ or endowments (minimum of $50,000 per endowment, with a total goal of $2 million) for students in the new undergraduate program, he added.
“Funds will also be needed to establish operational/capital/program endowments to support SDSU-IV’s growth. We will be looking for support from private corporations, public agencies, philanthropists, foundations and our SDSU-IV alumni and donor base,” he said.