Transfer Collective Led by CSUSM Administrator Receives Second Grant

A state group led by a Cal State San Marcos administrator has received a second grant that will allow it to continue its work in removing barriers to the success of transfer students.

College Futures Foundation has provided $650,000 toward the CCC-CSU Transfer Collaborative. That amount increases to almost $1 million thanks to a portion matched from a fund created at CSUSM this spring by CSUSM Foundation Board Director Daniel J. Epstein and his wife, Phyllis.

The collaborative, which is composed of seven California State University campuses (including CSUSM) and 10 schools from California Community Colleges (CCC), was launched and is led by Dawn M. Formo, CSUSM's dean of undergraduate studies.

"I am grateful to College Futures Foundation for its support," CSUSM President Ellen Neufeldt said. "Our values align around students and their economic and social mobility; it is an honor to lead this important initiative. By partnering with other institutions, under the leadership of Dean Formo, we are transforming the transfer student experience. Together, we are advancing opportunities for all students."

The collaborative was formed in January 2023 thanks to a $350,000 grant from College Futures Foundation, supplemented by $100,000 from the CSU Chancellor's Office. At the outset, Formo led a working group made up of representatives from the 16 other campuses to reduce obstacles to transferring.

The program was designed to focus specifically on students who are underrepresented minorities, first-generation and eligible for Pell grants - the populations at the highest risk of not transferring and completing their four-year degrees. According to 2020 data from the Public Policy Institute of California, only 10% of California community college students who intend to transfer reach that goal within four years, and 19% do so within six years.

With the initial $450,000 in awards last year, the collaborative identified systemic barriers to transfer and generated solutions. Now, with the second set of awards totaling $900,000, Formo and her team will begin to implement solutions.

Those solutions come in the form of the Transfer Collaborative Framework, which was shared last month during a meeting attended by 121 stakeholders. The recommendations focus on four clear needs: improved communication, data sharing, degree completion support and statewide collaboration.

Besides CSUSM, the CSU schools involved in the collaborative are Bakersfield, Dominguez Hills, East Bay, Los Angeles, Northridge and Pomona. The community college partners include Bakersfield, Chabot, Chaffey, East Los Angeles, L.A. Mission, L.A. Pierce, L.A. Valley, Palomar, Pasadena and Las Positas.

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