Stanislaus State received another tool to help the Turlock university work towards regaining pre-pandemic enrollment numbers.
California State University, Stanislaus secured a $3 million Title III grant from the U.S. Department of Education that will aim to help the university increase student retention and re-enrollment.
With the grant, Stan State will be launching the Pandemic Recovery with Equity (PRE) Initiative, which hopes to restore its enrollment, retention and completion rates to pre-pandemic levels. The initiative will expand Stan State’s capacity to support low-income and underrepresented students, ensuring more equitable educational opportunities for academic success.
In the fall of 2019, the semester before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, 10,975 students were enrolled at Stan State. Heading into the fall 2022 semester, that number had dipped to 10,155. Preliminary statistics from this past August showed the institution having just over 9,000 individuals enrolled.
“Securing a $3 million Title III grant is a monumental achievement for Stanislaus State and reflects our unwavering commitment to student success,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Christine Erickson. “This is a huge win that will empower us to support initiatives aimed at tackling enrollment and retention challenges head-on.”
Erickson also hopes the grant’s impact will not only be felt by current students but will extend a welcoming hand to those who have temporarily stepped away from their education.
“With this support, we will be able to do even more to help our students succeed and stay in school. We are committed to making sure every student has the best chance to do well, and this grant will make a big difference in reaching that goal,” she said.
“We wanted to place more focus on outreach to students who were withdrawing their enrollments into future semesters,” added Tracy Myers, a student retention coordinator in the Office of Student Equity and Success. “It has provided valuable insight into the obstacles faced by students and identified the barriers acting as roadblocks.”
The funds from the grant will be strategically used to achieve specific goals, such as expanding retention and re-enrollment programs, providing guidance to all first-year students, implementing a campuswide early alert system for faculty to share concerns about a student, revising educational planning tools and integrating mental health and career services into first year advising.
The PRE Initiative will just add to the steps the school has already taken to bolster student retention and re-enrollment.
Myers explained that at the start of the fall semester, every incoming first-year student was assigned to an advisor to receive support about advising and connecting with campus services. Additionally, Academic Affairs recently hired an associate vice president for strategic enrollment management to focus on scheduling and course enrollment management.
