Table of Contents

1. Introduction from the Vice President of Student Affairs
2. Adaptations Due to COVID
3. Student Development
4. Student Success & Educational Equity
5. Student Life, Engagement, & Leadership
6. Diversity & Inclusion
7. Health & Wellness
8. Building the Pipeline to Higher Education
9. Investing in Us

Adapt. Change. Repeat.

The 2020-2021 Academic Year began and ended online against the backdrop of a continuing global pandemic, a palpable racial reckoning, and an undercurrent of prolonged uncertainty. Remote learning and working caused us to relate and interact with one another in a human context that was qualitatively different from simply doing things virtually. Added to this was the culmination of years-long work of converting our campus from quarter to semester (Q2S).

Operating in this environment of constant change and uncertainty, our division met these challenges with our purpose to serve students and each other in a community of care. This report—Portraits of Impact—is a vehicle for us to tell the story of the effect our work has, and to remind ourselves of the meaning of what we come to do.

Sincerely,

Paz Maya Olivérez, Vice President of Student Affairs

Student Highlight

Vanessa Vega Avendano

Vanessa Vega Avendano worked in the Department of Housing and Residential Education (DHRE) Mail Room as the only student assistant during the 2020-2021 academic year. Vanessa did an amazing job providing service to students, staff, and faculty members who utilize our DHRE Mail Room functions. Vanessa was always welcoming to everyone who came to the Mail Room window and was willing to listen to patron needs and questions. Vanessa went above and beyond to provide help and service to students, staff, and faculty members utilizing the mail room and knew how to make appropriate referrals as necessary.

During COVID-19, Vanessa performed all her work in person, maintained appropriate health and safety measures, and helped communicate important COVID-19 messaging to students who came in. Without Vanessa, the Mail Room would not have been as organized and streamlined as it was.

Adaptations Due to COVID

During the COVID-19 pandemic and remote instruction and operations of the campus, the Division of Student Affairs (DSA) continued to adapt to changing regulations and needs of the community. Despite campus closure and limitations on operations, DSA reinforced student engagement and fulfillment of needs through hybrid procedures. Through the delivery of existing and new programs, students continued to have access to the necessary resources to support their overall success in higher education. The following are some examples of how our departments met the challenge.

Department of Housing & Residential Education (DHRE)

All on-campus housing facilities remained open to almost 200 residents with the implementation of limited in-person operations and extensive health and safety measures. Protocols consisted of COVID-19 Daily Health Screenings, as well as providing services to accommodate residents who were exposed or tested positive for COVID-19. Due to lower-density occupancy and limited operations, the Department of Housing and Residential Education (DHRE) experienced a staffing reduction of about 70%. Nevertheless, DHRE remained committed to the success and safety of all student residents.

Santos Manuel Student Union (SMSU)

The Santos Manuel Student Union (SMSU) offered alternative resources from their traditional on-campus events and services. Some efforts to support and enhance student learning include the “Applying For Scholarships: CSUSB Online Process” workshop where we offered $110,000 in scholarships through our Crankstart ReEntry and Osher ReEntry scholarship fund, our “Wednesday Weekly Resources” posts and our “Transfer Tuesday Talks” hosted by our Osher Adult Re-Entry Student Success Center.

Office of Student Engagement (OSE)

The Office of Student Engagement (OSE) provided virtual student leader trainings, workshops, and events to support student development. For instance, 174 students attended a virtual Club and Organization Orientation to address changes in OSE processes, virtual organization support, and club banking policies and procedures. 105 students participated in the annual LIT (Lead, Impact, Transform) Institute, where 92% of participants shared that they had a better understanding of their leadership identity by attending.

Student Assistance in Learning (SAIL)

Student Assistance in Learning (SAIL) obtained a grant from the Department of Education which awarded stipends to eligible students to support their learning. In addition to the $15,000 in stipend money from the annual SAIL grant, the project secured one-time funds awarding $54,900 to 61 eligible students.

Children's Center & Infant Toddler Lab School

The Children’s Center & Infant Toddler Lab School launched a virtual program for children and families that consisted of live, small-group zoom sessions with various materials and activities. The program was financially supported by the CCAMPIS (Child Care Access Means Parents in School) grant. Of the student parents who received the CCAMPIS grant to participate in the virtual Early Learning Enrichment Program during the fall semester:

Student Highlight

Malika Shimizu

Malika Shimizu is finishing her MA in English. She is a dependent of a USAF veteran and a student worker at CSUSB’s Veterans Success Center, working tirelessly as a student lead assisting staff with coordinating events and providing knowledgeable support to students. She is a role model to her peers, maintaining high academic standards while also gaining practical experience in the workplace.

Student Development

Supporting students in their development of transferrable skills for employment here and beyond

Student Employment in DSA

Student employment is a core development mechanism within Student Affairs. Our staff partners with students to prioritize learning and development within their employment experience through structured and intentional development conversations.

Career Development

The Career Center continued to provide virtual services and resources to help students explore career possibilities and prepare for their career choices.

Student Training for Skill Development

Student parents were offered a variety of workshops by the Children's Center & Infant Toddler Lab across a wide range of topics including parenting, child development, behavioral guidance, appropriate activities to implement at home with children, time management, nutrition, and stress management. Student parents gave their feedback indicating how the workshops have benefited them. Student Parent Workshop attendees reported an increase in the following skills:

Educational Opportunity Program (EOP)

The Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) continued to develop and train student peer mentors for the Summer Bridge Program and Renaissance Scholars Program during a difficult year marked by social distancing restrictions and shifts in learning modalities. EOP peer mentors provided intentional support and assistance to EOP students through more than 1550 hours of mentoring services. Additionally, MSW graduate-level interns provided 960 hours of services to EOP junior/senior students to prepare them for post-baccalaureate transition.

EOP Renaissance Scholars Program

EOP Renaissance Scholars Program, students were surveyed on their experience in the program:

Student Assistance in Learning (SAIL)

Student Assistance in Learning (SAIL)—a TRIO Student Support Services Grant— offers workshops that allow students to meet, interact, and learn from each other, and complement SAIL's advising and counseling services. In all, 214 workshops were offered to a total of 696 SAIL attendees. Workshop topics ranged from academic, career, financial, graduate school, and personal success.

Student Highlight

Marilyn Monroy

Marilyn Monroy is the oldest of four children and is currently a mother to two boys. As a first-generation student, she is a role model for her family. She is a transfer student from Riverside City College and transferred to CSUSB in the Fall of 2020. Marilyn is a Sociology major and plans to become a college guidance counselor because she wants to make a difference in other young people’s lives. At the age of twelve, Marilyn was placed in foster care. From that moment on, Marilyn states that she learned she had to stand up for herself and focus on her education.

Marilyn was a guest speaker at the 2020 EOPS conference and provided input to others that serve foster youth based on her experiences. She regularly connects with her counselor and peer mentor and has shared that EOP workshops have been very beneficial in her education. Marilyn will graduate in the Spring of 2022 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and hopes to continue her education in the M.S. Counseling Program at CSUSB.

Student Success & Educational Equity

Providing students with resources to succeed and removing obstacles to achievement

During the remote 2020-2021 academic year, the Division of Student Affairs continued to connect students with available campus resources and ensure equitable administration of these resources through various programming. Over $660,000 in scholarships, grants, and funding was given to students.

Basic Needs

In the face of new challenges, the Basic Needs program played a vital role in breaking down persistent systemic barriers, especially those linked to racial and ethnic identities. This has never been more important than during the COVID pandemic. The Basic Needs program reaffirmed its goals to ensure access to basic needs services and our core commitment to student success.

Educational Opportunity Program (EOP)

CSUSB’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) has worked diligently to improve the region's educational outcomes for disadvantaged youth by providing access to higher education and comprehensive student support services to between 1200-1400 foster and non-foster youth. During 2020-2021 EOP:

Renaissance Scholars Program (RSP)

The Renaissance Scholars Program (RSP) is committed to providing comprehensive support services to current and former foster youth as they transition into the university and through to graduation.

Summer Bridge

EOP’s Summer Bridge program advances participants’ readiness as they enter college by exposing students to the rigors of university life, providing students a head start in acclimating themselves to the college curriculum, and familiarizing students with university resources and the opportunity to begin building community with other students. Summer Bridge participants achieved notable pass rates in credit-bearing classes:

Services to Students with Disabilities (SSD)

Services to Students with Disabilities (SSD) Transfer Students' retention and graduation data eclipsed non-disabled counterparts. The retention and 2-year graduation rates for new transfer students that started CSUSB in the Fall of 2020 were higher for SSD students when compared to non-SSD students.

Second-year retention rates of SSD transfer students was higher than non-SSD transfer students:

Two-year graduation rates of SSD transfer students was higher than non-SSD transfer students:

Additionally, the second-year retention rates for SSD graduate students were higher than non-SSD students when looking at the Fall 2020 cohort.

Second-year retention rates of SSD graduate students were higher than non-SSD graduate students:

Undocumented Student Success Center (USSC)

The Undocumented Student Success Center (USSC) continued to strengthen the support services available to undocumented students at CSUSB. Operations for the USSC shifted from grant funding to institutional funds, and expanded office space was procured as a result of the advocacy efforts from the Santos Manuel Student Union Board of Directors. The USSC Director and Advisor positions were reclassified and elevated to provide services to more than 700 undocumented, DACAmented, and multi-status students at both the San Bernardino and Palm Desert Campuses.

Veteran's Success Center (VSC)

Through $5000 in scholarships and $3000 in Thanksgiving grocery gift cards, the Veteran’s Success Center (VSC) provided direct financial assistance to students. In partnership with the Office of Community Engagement and the 437th Medical Company (March Air Reserve Base), the VSC collected and delivered Christmas toys to two non-profit organizations. Additionally, VSC partnered with San Bernardino Elks Lodge 836 to provide free printers, inks, and paper to ten students at both San Bernardino and Palm Desert campuses

Student Highlight

Julia Josephine Ruiz

Julia Josephine Ruiz began her leadership journey with the SMSU as a committee student representative. She later was elected chairperson of the Board of Directors in the Fall of 2020. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, racial injustices, and the widened health disparities that directly impacted marginalized communities in the Inland Empire and around the world, Julia remained committed to recovering from the lingering effects that these events had on our campus community. Julia was insightful, creative, and thoughtful when discussing how these trials brought many hurdles to the campus, but was determined in her resolve to overcome these challenges and create a beacon of resilience and progress in our organization despite these unprecedented events.

As the SMSU expansion was completed, Julia was instrumental in re-envisioning the framework toward equitable services and returned to campus with the intention and dedication of putting our students, professional staff, and our communities first in all the Board of Directors' decisions. Julia states that working alongside RecWell and SMSU colleagues has been one of the most impactful and enriching experiences during her time at CSUSB where she had the opportunity to serve students while nurturing partnerships both within the campus community and in the greater SoCal communities.

Student Life, Engagement, & Leadership

Providing meaningful opportunities for connection, involvement, and leadership development

Office of Student Engagement (OSE)

The Office of Student Engagement (OSE) hosted its annual Social Justice Summit where two keynote speakers spoke at two virtual sessions, focusing on the fundamentals of racial and social justice. 224 participants engaged in these virtual events:

During COVID-19, CSUSB’s co-curricular engagement platform—Coyote Connection—played a pivotal role in the Office of Student Engagement and many other areas within the Division of Student Affairs. The platform has grown in visibility and usage throughout the 2020-2021 academic year.

Associated Students, Incorporated (ASI)

In December 2020 CSUSB was recognized by the California Secretary of State as the campus with the "most creative approach" to voter registration. This was a result of ASI's "Your Vote, Our Future" voter engagement campaign facilitated from September to November 2020.

A total of 850 students were registered to vote through this campaign, and many more were educated about voting and the 2020 general election.

Department of Housing and Residential Education (DHRE)

The Department of Housing and Residential Education (DHRE) reported that residents living on campus had a positive experience regarding community-building and engagement despite the COVID-19 outbreak and health and safety measures in place.

87% of respondents to the Fall 2020 Experience Survey were satisfied with the overall experience they had living on campus. Feedback from residents regarding what their RA is doing well:

Despite reduced student leader positions and resident numbers, and the change to virtual programming, the team continued to provide residents with opportunities to engage with one another and to grow and learn within our communities. Student leaders at DHRE hosted 102 virtual or socially distanced programs in the 2020-2021 academic year, with 473 participants attending these events. Based on the feedback from 57 residents, 100% indicated that they were satisfied or highly satisfied with their residency program.

Of those who attended these programs and events:

Statements from Participants

Health & Wellness

Equipping students with the skills to adopt healthy lifestyles, and enhance well-being in their personal, work, academic, and community environments

Fall 2020 CAPS Outcomes

Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)

CSUSB’s commitment to Health and Wellness empowers students to achieve their potential through leading healthy lifestyles. With the implementation of several services and resources, DSA continues to advocate for students. Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provided 5,736 counseling sessions, including individual, group, and crisis sessions between the San Bernardino and Palm Desert campuses.

In addition to providing counseling sessions at both the San Bernardino and Palm Desert Campuses, CAPS hosted nationally recognized speakers and provided other professional development opportunities to counselors for serving underrepresented populations in the clinical setting and enhancing outreach activities through grant funding. These activities also contributed to the counselors’ self-examination of identity and its impact on the students they serve and their colleagues. CAPS collaborations with the identity centers and programs continued to be enhanced and several programs were co-created to support processing and healing in response to national and other events that targeted and disproportionately impacted specific communities.

Student Health Center (SHC)

The Student Health Center (SHC) also played an integral role in the health and wellness of our students. Temporary isolation exam rooms for COVID-19 cases were established through partnerships with Facilities, Planning & Management, Environmental Health & Safety, and Risk Management. These isolation rooms allowed medical teams to assess and treat students with COVID-19 symptoms as safely as possible, with several updated standards, procedures, and policies in place. The SHC partnered with outside agencies and other healthcare facilities when students needed in-person evaluation and treatment and creatively found ways to meet student needs when birth control options and other preventive reproductive healthcare were severely limited. Providing the same exceptional care for most conditions while under restricted in-person operations was the SHC’s main priority.

Santos Manuel Student Union (SMSU)

The Santos Manuel Student Union (SMSU) sought to build mutually beneficial partnerships to develop COVID Vaccination Clinics for the health and safety of the CSUSB community. RecWell’s partnership with CSUSB’s Emergency Operations Center and Rite Aid resulted in the ability to provide the campus community with 4 COVID Vaccination Clinics during April and May of 2021. The clinics were held in the Student Recreation & Wellness Center and resulted in over 1500 individuals receiving vaccinations. Moreover, the SMSU worked to revitalize new spaces for wellness center facilities with $100,000 of grant funding related to mental health and basic needs. All elements related to the wellness center project aimed to create a space with an activity/workshop room with smart classroom capabilities, a mind/body room for meditation and yoga, a lounge with five massage chairs, and a consultation room for health and wellness assessments.

Student Highlight

Gema Pena

Gema Pena was an active participant in the GEAR UP Program since her freshman year at Arroyo Valley High School. After a challenging 9th-grade year, Gema refocused herself on school and community service. Her grades greatly improved, her confidence built, and she took advantage of all opportunities presented. A highlight moment for Gema was in Washington DC, where she got on stage to represent CSUSB GEAR UP as a rising 11th-grade student to an audience of 2500+ educators from across the country. She bravely used her platform to bring awareness to the inhumanity of separating families at the border. The room fell silent and then erupted with massive applause when she was done.

Her passion for helping others showed as she walked for multiple hours per day to educate households on the benefits of the COVID vaccine, served as a Fellow in the Inland Empire Fellowship Program, and was a 2021 recipient of the 30 Under 30 Award for Eloise Reyes' district. The future of San Bernardino is bright because of amazing trailblazers like Gema.

Building the Pipeline to Higher Education

Going beyond the university to build relationships around student success with local high schools, community colleges, and community organizations

Office of Pre-College Programs

The Office of Pre-College Programs at CSUSB includes federal and state-funded projects designed to build pipelines for pre-college students to higher education. Programs include Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math/Science, Educational Talent Search (ETS), Cal-SOAP, and First Star Academy. Combined, services were available to over 20,000 pre-college students across 16 school districts, and 50+ schools. While each project has its own set of goals and regulations, all programs are driven by equity initiatives designed to create opportunities for students and families to gain access to and knowledge of opportunities available through higher education.

Upward Bound

Investing in Us

Empowering our people and processes for impact

The Division of Student Affairs holds town halls every semester to gather our staff, present the state of the division, and engage in discussion around timely issues. In addition to town halls, several division-wide programs and events were held during 2020-2021 designed to equip and empower our staff.

Division-wide Trauma Stewardship Series

DSA staff were engaged in a community around a Trauma Stewardship Series. This series was created through ongoing conversations among division leadership regarding the need for us to responsibly guide those who may be experiencing struggles while navigating our own.

• The series began in July with special guest Dr. Thema Bryant-Davis who provided us with actionable steps to engage in our daily “work of care”, while also engaging in the work of caring for ourselves during challenging world and national events.
• In September, the series continued with discussions around the book Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky.
• The third and final session in November focused on how compassion fatigue and community care co-exist. Participants received a digital journal specifically authored for student affairs professionals; a timely tool as we embarked on navigating through a second unprecedented academic year

SPARC Launches

In the Summer of 2021, DSA Council branded the division’s strategic plan into SPARC: Student Success, Partnerships, Assessment, Resources, Communities. This collaborative roadmap for the division was created over a year-long process of multiple leadership retreats and division-wide town halls. This process was designed to foster strategic thinking and to embed assessment into the process and product of strategic planning. Each unit within DSA built an implementation plan aligned with SPARC that would prioritize their efforts, reporting, and assessment.

Staff Development Conference

In May 2021 DSA’s Staff Development Committee organized the virtual 3rd annual Staff Development Conference: Strong, Steadfast, & Socially Just. This all-staff development day included DSA Social Justice Leaders panel discussion, division awards, and goal-setting for departmental areas. Topical workshops included:

• From Boarding Schools to Suspension Boards
• Intent vs. Impact: An Un-session on the Hidden Messages in Student Leadership Development
• Assisting Students on Their Journey
• I Call Myself Disabled
• What’s Next After Graduation in the Time of COVID

This year, the committee instituted an awards program to recognize the hard work and commitment of staff, students, faculty, and campus partners to Student Affairs. Post-session feedback was positive, reaffirming, and provided suggestions for future staff development conferences.

Inaugural Assessment Leadership Program

During the Summer of 2021, 10 DSA members participated in the virtual Assessment Capability Leadership Institute (ACLI) developed by the campus’s Assessment Capability Collaborative (ACC). This development program included over 70 faculty and staff from across the campus engaging in a blended learning community around the design and implementation of program, department, and unit outcome assessment. Assessment leaders within DSA provided training and coaching to the ACLI 2021 cohort. DSA participants reported gaining the most growth in using assessment for improvement versus accountability, distinguishing different types of outcomes (learning, program, and operational), and promoting diverse inclusion in the process and practice of assessment. Our staff involvement in ACLI contributes to the culture of learning and improvement that Student Affairs strives to build.