CSUSB Program Receives $2.6 Million Federal Grant

SAN BERNARDINO>> Coyote First STEP, California State University, San Bernardino’s award-winning and nationally recognized residential early start program created to reduce the need for remediation in math and/or English, has received a five-year $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education. “This is great news for Coyote First STEP and is a credit to our faculty and staff who have worked very hard to make the program a success,” said CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales. “More importantly, CFS is making a difference in helping our students succeed in the classroom, in university life and ultimately graduate on a timely basis.” The DOE Title V Hispanic Serving Institution grant will be paid in five installments from 2016-17 through 2020-21, said Rachel Weiss, director of the CSUSB Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Launched in July 2015, the Student Transition Enhancement Program, which is part of the initiative to increase college readiness and graduation rates, consists of enrollment in an Early Start math class and peer-led tutoring. It also offers an “introduction to college-level writing,” which can also double as an Early Start English class for those students who must meet that requirement. Coyote First STEP also gives students the opportunity to take part in a wide array of evening and weekend co-curricular workshops. The workshops are designed to enhance social connections among students, forge a sense of belonging at CSUSB and help ensure students are on a solid footing for timely graduation. Every part of the program, including instruction, tutoring, housing, food and co-curricular workshops, is offered entirely free to the student. The Coyote First STEP program is modeled after CSUSB’s highly successful Intensive Mathematics Program that has been taught on campus for several summers. According to CSUSB data, 90 percent of IMP students progressed at least one level toward college readiness in mathematics. The other components of Coyote First STEP are based on national research and best practices for promoting college success, said Alysson Satterlund, CSUSB’s associate vice president and dean of students. The CSU Chancellor’s Office was so impressed with CSUSB’s design for Coyote First STEP that it committed $1.4 million toward the costs. In addition, high schools in the Moreno Valley and San Bernardino school districts have agreed to use their Local Control Funding to partially cover their own graduates who are required to attend Coyote First STEP, and several more districts are expected to contribute. The program is the result of the collaboration of more than 100 staff, faculty and administrators from throughout the campus. Specifically, faculty in math and English, and colleagues in CSUSB’s Student Affairs, the College of Extended Learning, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Information Technology Services, Administration and Finance, Sodexo dining services, Special Events and Guest Services, the Office of Undergraduate Studies and many others, have been involved. In addition, more than 60 students have been employed as call center liaisons, tutors and student assistants.