About OSS
The Office of Student Success (OSS) applies the values of community-centered justice, cultural and intellectual humility, high impact practices (HIPs), and action-oriented inquiry to lay the groundwork for an equity rich culture.
The flow chart above shows Student Affairs and Academic Affairs Organizational Structure.
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Vice President of Student Affairs
- Identity Based Resource Centers
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Provost, Vice President of Academic Affairs
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Office of Student Success
- Pathways 2 Excellence
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Learning Resource Center
- SMART Lab
- University Writing Center
- Supplemental Instruction (SI)
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Academic First Year Experiences
- U100
- U301
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Office of Student Success
Meet the Team
Melanie Bocanegra
Associate Vice President for Student Success
Melanie is a proud San Fernando Valley native and first-generation college student who began her higher-ed journey at LA Mission College. She went on to earn degrees from UC San Diego and Stanford University, where her work focused on equity, STEM education, and expanding access for students who have been historically marginalized.
As Associate Vice President of Student Success at CSU Northridge, she leads programs that support first-year students, tutoring and learning support, college transition pathways, and identity-based resource centers in partnership with the Division of Student Affairs.
Zachary Helsper
Senior Strategist, Student Equity Initiatives
Zachary leads efforts to support college transitions for new students, particularly those from underserved backgrounds. His work includes developing equity-minded data analyses and collaborating across departments to advance equity and inclusion throughout the campus and the broader California State University network.
Andrew Castro
Office Manager, Assistant to the AVP of Student Success
Andrew serves as the executive assistant to the AVP of Student Success. In addition, he coordinates all admin functions for the Office of Student Success, including financials, scheduling, and supervision of student assistants.
Working for the Office of Student Success full time is a full-circle moment for Andrew since he first started working in the Learning Resource Center as a student assistant in 2018 and has worked at CSUN ever since.
Vanessa Hernandez
Student Equity Programs Coordinator
Vanessa is a first-generation college graduate and proud CSUN alum committed to supporting students as they enter and navigate the university. Her work centers on helping students understand how academic spaces operate and giving them the language and tools to navigate college on their own terms. She brings campus partners together early through Pathways to Excellence to build meaningful connections and foster belonging, particularly for students who have been disproportionately impacted by inequities in higher education. Through this work, she ensures students enter the university ready to claim space, ask questions, and engage with confidence.