Chancellor’s Black Student Success Report

CSU Commitment to Black Student Success

At the CSU, we're committed to addressing the decline in Black student enrollment and retention, a trend seen nationwide. In the fall of 2022, Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester called on CSU leadership to intensify their efforts in supporting Black students' success.

To address these challenges, the CSU Black Student Success workgroup undertook a comprehensive process to review of resources and conduct listening sessions to gather data on the Black student populations from all 23 of our universities. They put forth recommendations that challenge the CSU to act strategically to make a lasting impact on Black students in higher education.

A Call to Action

The CSU Black Student Success workgroup's report outlined 13 systemwide recommendations aimed at driving the cultural changes needed to advance Black student success.

1. Create and implement an early outreach plan
2. Develop a comprehensive enrollment strategy for black students
3. Develop a comprehensive retention and persistence strategy for black students
4. Create welcoming and affirming spaces
5. Develop and implement an inclusive and culturally relevant curriculum
6. Standardize and increase black faculty and staff recruitment and support
7. Invest in Black faculty and staff support
8. Incorporate Black Student Success in faculty and staff evaluations
9. Implement a comprehensive enrollment marketing campaign
10. Develop a structure and process for system-wide data-driven practices
11. Create system-wide policies on addressing unprofessional conduct
12. Launch the CSU Statewide Central Office for the Advancement of Black Excellence
13. Create structures for system-wide accountability

BSI Taskforce

Cabinet-level sponsors: Dr. Mia Settles-Tidwell and Dr. Aniesha Mitchell

Workgroups co-chairs:

Black Student Success - Dr. Marcellene Watson-Derbigny and Dr. Tina Jordan

Black Staff Success - Dr. Nadine Kelley, Dr. Leha Hawkins, and Ruth Williams

Black Faculty Success - Dr. Andrea Moore and Dr. Ernest Uwazie

Black Community Success - Dr. Robin Carter, Khalil Ferguson, Kameya Turner, and Kamiya Turner

To affirm and ensure Black excellence and success at Sac State these members have been charged with developing a comprehensive strategic plan that includes the following:

• Establish a sustainable Black Success Taskforce that includes students, staff, faculty, alumni, and donors.
• Develop a roadmap and action plan for the revitalization of the Black Success Taskforce
• Develop related immediate, near-term, mid-term, and long-term goals, as well as action steps
• Create an actionable, campus-wide engagement, socialization, and communication plan (e.g., website, materials, social media, community engagement survey, etc.)
• Recommend investments in the student success infrastructure, curriculum, research, and campus culture toward serving the Black community.
• Provide permanent funding and membership to the Afrikan Black Coalition Conference with the Afrikan Black Coalition annually.
• Create more visibility of Black Students, Staff, and Faculty on Sac State’s campus through campus websites, social media sites, and any media outlets.
• Develop a Sac State Black Student Success Compact to ensure that students are aware of Sac State’s expectations and commitment to advancing their growth and achievement (e.g. commitment to the Antiracism and Inclusive Campus Plan, Graduation Initiative 2025, Black Success Initiative and Black Student Success Work Group Report, etc.).

BSI Goals

• Formulate a structured action plan with clear goals and outcomes on Black Student Success
• Ensure sub-committee work meets the objectives of the global CSU Plan on Black Excellence
• Present regularly to the Cabinet for feedback, input, and enhancement
• Engage in systematic tracking of progress with reports back to key stakeholder groups across the University
• Foster campus and community partnerships to meet Initiative goals and objectives
• Gather student perspectives on progress and ensure the student voice throughout the process is heard and actions implemented
• Present semester and annual findings for accountability and sustainable action through the development of a Black Student Success Dashboard

Life Cycle of a Successful Black Student

Black Student Success Inventory

The BSI Taskforce is conducting an inventory with subject matter experts who have been tasked to assess the baseline measure of the effort currently being taken to ensure Black student success on our campus.

The inventory will help to identify gaps in critical areas, including but not limited to capacity, resources, innovation, and investment.

Using the rubric below, the results will be used to compose a proposal on how best to address the success of Black students on our campus.

Implementation Timeline