New Course Sections

June 1, 2026

Dear Hornet Community,

I’m so pleased to serve as your Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. I’m looking forward to working more closely with the wider campus community. We have good work to do!

For now, we have a time-sensitive piece of good news.

Sacramento State’s four-year graduation rate has risen from under 9% in 2016 to more than 31% today. That progress reflects the commitment of our entire community — and we are not done.

A great deal of that credit belongs to our department chairs and faculty, who have managed a curriculum that has expanded and contracted in response to the shifting budget realities. As a community, we have adapted schedules, covered courses, and found ways to serve students even when resources were constrained. That work has paid off. The upward trajectory we are on today is built on your effort, even in the face of uncertainty.

Going forward, to better position us to serve students the way we intend, we are shifting our posture: from reacting and managing to planning ahead. This means making section decisions earlier, with greater intention, so that the courses students need are in place before the gaps become emergencies.

The next step is straightforward: students must be able to access the courses their degree requires. Too many students — transfer students arriving ready to move forward, juniors and seniors within reach of graduation — are being held back not by their own effort but by a lack of available seats in courses they need.

Access to a course that only meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays mid-day is not real access. Our commitment is to offer the right courses at the right times – in formats that work for students who work and care for families.

We are responding with a targeted expansion of course sections for Summer Session II and the upcoming Fall semester. These additions are not as early in the planning cycle as we would like — that is a goal we are working toward — but they reflect a deliberate commitment to get ahead of student need. New sections will be concentrated in three areas:

 High-demand bottleneck courses where students routinely wait one or more semesters to enroll

• General Education courses needed by incoming transfer students, so they have the foundation they need when they arrive
• Upper-division requirements where graduating seniors are most frequently delayed

New sections will be distributed across the full scheduling pattern — early morning, evening, weekend, and compressed formats — and will use online delivery and larger campus venues where pedagogically appropriate. Every section added will be grounded in enrollment trends, graduation needs, and waitlist data.

This is a student success commitment.

With appreciation,

Mary Maguire, PhD
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Telecommute Agreements Update

June 2, 2026

 Dear Academic Affairs Staff,

I want to start with a straightforward acknowledgment: the recent decision to end telecommuting for the division, effective July 1, 2026, was difficult, and I know it created uncertainty for many of you. I want to share an update that I hope brings some relief.

Effective immediately, we will not fully end telecommuting in Academic Affairs. Existing agreements will continue through their scheduled end date of June 30, 2026. Employees who wish to continue telecommuting for one day per week beyond that date must submit a new request for approval consistent with the CSU Telecommuting Program, which remains voluntary and employee-initiated. Agreements may be approved for an additional year ---- June 30, 2027. There is no deadline to return to full on-campus schedules.

Beginning this fall, Academic Affairs leadership will conduct a thoughtful, division-wide review of telecommute and staffing— one that will take into account the nature of your roles and their circumstances, the needs of students, and the operational needs of your areas. That review will shape our approach going forward.

The work you do is indispensable to this university. You are the people who keep Academic Affairs functioning — who show up every day, in person and remotely, with care and professionalism and a genuine commitment to our students and our mission. You have navigated an enormous amount of systemic change in recent years, and you have done it with grace. I am grateful for that, and I do not take it for granted.

Sacramento State is your community. You care about the students you serve, the colleagues you work alongside, and the mission you advance every day. You are deeply valued here, not just for what you produce but for who you are and what you bring to our campus.

Thank you. I look forward to the conversations ahead.

With appreciation,

Mary Maguire, PhD
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs