Experience

Increasing access to high-quality education is essential to creating a more equitable future. Our departments work hard to ensure students of all backgrounds and abilities can learn and thrive at CSUN.

• The Center on Disabilities increased its year-round presence and activity in the accessibility and assistive technology communities. We have also begun engaging with the CSUN community throughout the year via different channels and increasing its presence through media, including local/national news, social media and podcasts.
• We have revitalized CSUN’s Black House—a historic establishment dedicated to celebrating Black and African American culture and an essential student resource—and made investments in updating its technology. Along with these changes, we have:
  • Hired a social work intern to implement a mentorship program.
  • Partnered with the Career Center to hire two peer student employees who can provide professional development support.
  • Partnered with Student Outreach And Recruitment (SOAR) on the “Black Matador Excellence Experience.” This program brought in 60 incoming first-year and transfer students for a residential summer program. Students will receive ongoing case management services throughout the year to support their success. We plan to expand this program for the upcoming academic year.

As a division and institution, we pride ourselves on delivering unparalleled instruction and achieving noteworthy outcomes. Our commitment to distinction is evident in the following:

• At University Counseling Services (UCS), post-doctoral fellows worked toward mastering the profession-wide competencies expected of a health services psychologist in the area of individual and cultural differences by demonstrating multicultural competency within the conduct of their professional roles. Evaluations were uniformly excellent:
  • 2.93 out of 3.00: Multicultural Competency – Individual and Cultural Diversity (Overall)
  • 3.00 out of 3.00: Multicultural Competency – Assessment
  • 3.00 out of 3.00: Multicultural Competency – Intervention
  • 3.00 out of 3.00: Multicultural Competency – Supervision
• The Office of Student Conduct is actively collaborating with the divisions of Academic Affairs and Information Technology on Artificial Intelligence (AI), how to educate faculty on AI’s impact on classrooms, and how to develop policies around its use.

The Division of Student Affairs strives to hold our departments accountable and play an active role in dismantling barriers that keep students from pursuing their goals. To advance CSUN’s larger strategic priority of disrupting systemic inequities, our departments have initiated a series of projects, which include the following:

• In partnership with Institutional Research (IR), our divisional departments worked to disaggregate student engagement data by key variables related to our justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) goals. Since then, we’ve created numerous dashboards to monitor our progress and measure our programs’ effectiveness.
• We require at least one of each department’s strategic goals for the last two planning cycles to connect to and support CSUN’s JEDI values. For example:
  • Guided by Associated Students (AS) includes JEDI workshops in Reboot Camp and AS Development Day training. The CSUN Road Map steers these trainings.
  • Associated Students submitted several data sets to IR to better understand our student populations and how we can serve them. We will compare this data with the overall CSUN student population to identify gaps related to race/ethnicity, gender identity, first-gen status, etc. As a result of this effort, we plan to assemble an Internal DEI Work Team. Their work will focus on providing guidance and support to create an inclusive workplace and assist with issues of organization climate, inclusive practices, and equitable experiences for staff and student members.
  • In fall 2023, the Klotz Student Health Center (SHC) implemented gender-affirming health care, enhancing access to the Klotz SHC sexual and reproductive health care services in a safe and inclusive environment. In total, 22 new patients have received care.
• CSUN’s Disability Resource and Educational Services (DRES) has worked hard to serve our community and help establish a more inclusive society by empowering students to achieve their academic and professional goals. In recent years, DRES has:
  • Served 2,882 students with disabilities, including students dual-served with the National Center on Deafness (NCOD).
  • Completed 1,146 intakes.
  • Helped students enroll in 23,243 classes.
  • Proctored 4,590 exams.
  • Reviewed and processed 29,223 academic accommodation requests.

The Division of Student Affairs works to empower students in every aspect of their CSUN journey by providing identity-based resources, co-curricular experiences and a personalized student success approach.

• In March 2024, Student Housing implemented an engagement tracking system powered by StarRez. Since its implementation, the system has tracked 1,049 student attendees. During check-in, we pay close attention to collecting data and student insights regarding resident participation across various events. The insights gathered from this data have been invaluable in understanding attendee demographics, event frequencies and preferences. With this foundational knowledge, we can refine and optimize our future residential life offerings, ensuring they meet the needs and interests of our student population.
• Student Housing has also begun a new construction project, building a 198-bed residential building that will increase access to more affordable, on-campus housing.
• Student Development and Transitional Programs (SDTP) increased parent programming over the past year. We offer four total parent orientation dates, which host approximately 1,500 parents, family members and guardians. These parent orientations also incorporate a combination of on-site and post-event surveys, which yielded data to learn if we meet our programming goals and help us prepare for next year’s programs.
• In total, 30,692 CSUN students received financial assistance totaling $398,244,518 during the 2023-2024 academic year. This includes all grants, scholarships (institutional and off-campus), loans (federal, state and private), and work-study programs. Of the funding provided, the total federal aid awarded was $203,354,251 and the total state aid was $172,928,209.
• CSUN with a Heart, our office dedicated to ensuring all students in need receive basic needs support, has overseen the following:
  • Ensured the 476 students, who submitted requests, received housing stability support services.
  • Provided 47 students with emergency housing both on- and off-campus. Additionally, CSUN with a Heart gave 111 students emergency grant funds to prevent housing instability, totaling $201,477 in financial support.
  • 2,620 unique visitors utilized the CSUN Food Pantry and Pop-Up Pantry, for a total of 7,538 visits.
  • Prescreened 2,702 students for CalFresh benefits eligibility. And, with the help of our student advocates, students submitted 1,785 applications.
  • 164 volunteers contributed 2,727 volunteer hours across all Basic Needs programs.
  • Added four more drop-in locations across campus, increasing the total number of drop-in locations to 13.

As CSUN grows, Student Affairs aims to expand how we can promote a tight-knit community where all students receive the holistic care they need to thrive. To advance these goals, our departments have embarked on the following projects:

• University Counseling Services (UCS) has worked hard to expand our campus-wide knowledge of suicide and suicide prevention to improve our response to students in distress. By implementing the use of the question, persuade and refer (QPR) training, we give our campus community practical applications of how to effectively engage and deescalate situations so they can understand the warning signs of suicide, ask someone about suicide, supply information about resources and get help for someone in distress.
• Over the past year, UCS has:
  • Served 2,118 students by providing direct clinical services.
  • Scheduled 11,518 total appointments as of May 20, 2024.
  • Facilitated 31 QPR suicide prevention trainings.
  • Clocked 964 hours of psychiatry residents' volunteer work and 1,758 hours of social work intern work.
  • Employed 56 volunteer student peer educators.
  • Hosted 340 outreach presentations and workshops.

At CSUN, we believe that university-wide change is possible. Through cross-departmental collaboration and reimagining our institutional structures, processes and systems, we strategize for the future and make wise investments for a more sustainable and equitable future. Our departments have completed the following:

• The University Student Union (USU) determined the viability of continuing the New Heart of Campus and the Valera NEST projects, redefining each project’s scope, schedule, budget, financing and student referendum commitments.
  • We held weekly meetings related to the renovation and expansion that occurred during 2023-2024 to discuss the following:
    • Valera NEST (formerly known as the Basic Needs Suite).
    • Northridge Center (NRC) code analysis.
    • Space utilization analysis.
    • Renovation and expansion future planning.
• All Student Affairs departments have embraced CliftonStrengths as a model for professional development, growth and self-understanding. The following examples demonstrate some examples of this work:
  • Numerous Student Affairs staff members have received certification training as CliftonStrengths Coaches to help our division members better understand their talents and contributions.
  • We have developed departmental “team talent maps” to show the strengths of department staff across the four domains of Execution, Influence, Relationship Building and Strategic Thinking.
• To increase safety and convenience, Student Housing has completed Phase 1 of implementing digital tap entry systems via the MataCard in critical areas on campus. We’ve recently begun Phase 2, extending the adaptation to additional spaces and ensuring the full implementation of digital tap entry systems across all designated areas in housing.
  • Additionally, Student Housing can now use the MataCard to verify after-hours access (after 7 p.m.) for residents and those with an active Meal Plan. Additionally, the MataCard office has established an iValidate check-out program, which will allow partners on campus to check students into events on an ad hoc basis.
• Our Student Development and Transitional Programs (SDTP) ensure students from traditionally under-supported and underrepresented backgrounds have an affirming experience and help connect them to an affirming campus.
  • During the New Student Orientation, we surveyed 3,001 students through on-site surveys on how the program showcased CSUN’s assistance to all communities. When asked — “Do you believe your communities/identities (race, ethnicity, affinity groups, sexual orientation, etc.) will be supported throughout your academic year?” — 94% of students agreed.