By Cynthia Hubert

June 18, 2025

Sacramento State will soon launch a pilot program designed to serve as a model for improving academic and career outcomes for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students.

The pilot program follows the University’s designation by the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs as the state’s first Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI)-Serving Institution.

The commission will provide seed funding for the project, which the University will administer beginning this fall.

The pilot program will add to Sac State’s already robust student support system, which includes an Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Student Center. The University is also a federally designated Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution.

“This (program) is a testament to our commitment as an AANHPI institution. It will allow us to expand upon the great work we already are doing and allow Sac State to serve as a model for other institutions.” -- Chao Vang,  assistant vice president for Educational Equity Programs and Student Success

About 7,000 of Sac State’s more than 31,000 students identify as Asian American, said Chao Vang, the University’s assistant vice president for Educational Equity Programs and Student Success. Roughly half of those students are members of groups that traditionally have been underserved in higher education, including Native Hawaiians, Southeast Asians, and Southwest Asian North Africans (SWANA), Vang said.

Sac State is the first university in California to be awarded a pilot program to specifically serve this diverse group of students, administrators said.

“This partnership demonstrates our commitment to foster an ecosystem of academic excellence in advancing equity, retention and outcomes for Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander, Southeast Asian, and North African students,” said Aniesha Mitchell, Sac State’s vice president for Student Affairs.

The pilot project will focus on three areas that Sac State has identified as most pressing for those students: career development, mental health and academic tutoring.

“This (program) is a testament to our commitment as an AANHPI institution,” said Vang. “It will allow us to expand upon the great work we already are doing and allow Sac State to serve as a model for other institutions.”

For the academic portion of the program, Sac State will identify courses that have high failure or dropout rates among the targeted student groups, then provide culturally appropriate tutoring to those who are struggling, Vang said.

Student tutors will be trained to teach with cultural differences in mind to make learning more relevant to the lives and experiences of participants, he said.

For the mental health part of the project, the campus will launch a yearlong campaign encouraging all students, but especially members of the target groups, to seek help if they are feeling depressed, anxious or overwhelmed.

“In some cultures, letting people know that you need help with your mental health is taboo,” Vang said. “We want to offer a culturally affirming approach to mental health awareness,” including marketing campaigns that feature Asian Americans, as well as peer counselors to help members of the target groups seek services.

“We hope that students will then go home and have conversations about mental health with family members,” Vang said.

The third portion of the new project aims to help students succeed in the professional world by sharpening skills such as building a resume and interviewing for a job.

“We will give them access to working professionals who have shared cultural experiences and can help guide them,” said Vang.

The project’s overall goal is to ensure that SWANA, ANHPI and Southeast Asian students earn their college degrees and gain a foothold in the workplace.

“Our pilot initiative supports historically underserved students by providing resources to promote academic success, mental health access and career readiness,” said Khydeeja Alam, executive director of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs. “We are committed to providing tools for AANHPI students to graduate on time and shape California's future as leaders in their communities.”