Cal State San Bernardino has been awarded $5,000 by the National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH) as a part of its latest Catalyst Fund Awards.

CSUSB is one of 32 institutions awarded funding, totaling $220,000, to support California’s public higher education systems. This funding round focused on initiatives aimed at removing cost as a barrier to college through innovative practices that enhance affordability and support equitable access to higher education.

The grant award for CSUSB will go toward Early Notification & Guidance for Academic Excellence (ENGAGE), which uses learning management data (LMS) to develop a tool for academic advisors to identify at-risk students and provide them timely support. This is especially important because 87% of CSUSB’s undergraduates indicated that they would want an advisor to reach out to them if they were falling behind in any of their classes. The goal would be to eventually scale up ENGAGE for use within the CSU system, as well as at other institutions.

NASH sought out programs and initiatives at institutions within the California State University system, University of California system and California Community Colleges system that demonstrated innovative practices with potential for replication and scale. The Catalyst Fund focuses on discovering innovative ideas to share with NASH’s extensive network of systems nationwide, helping advance all students.

“As the nation’s largest and most diverse public four-year university system, providing equitable access to a high-quality education is central to the California State University’s mission,” said Mildred García, CSU chancellor. “We are grateful to NASH for funding innovative programs at our universities that help remove financial barriers and increase academic and career opportunities for our diverse students. Through our engagement with NASH and collaboration with our California public higher education partners, we are building scalable models to advance student success that exemplify our nation’s fundamental value of opportunity for all.”

“We are thrilled to recognize innovative initiatives across all three of California's public higher education systems. With NASH's support these institutions are breaking down financial barriers, making higher education more accessible and affordable for all students,” said Jessica Todman, executive vice president at NASH. “This investment is a testament to our commitment to fostering student success and sharing best practices across our extensive network through the Power of Systems. We hope the insights gained from this work will enable us to scale evidence-based interventions beyond California, as the collective efforts of all our systems aim to advance prosperity for the nation.”

The institutions and system offices that received awards introduced several initiatives aimed at increasing college accessibility and affordability for low-income students. These initiatives included addressing financial needs not covered by traditional aid and reducing net tuition through various methods, such as reduced rates, fee waivers, scholarships and microgrants for basic needs. Additionally, efforts were made to enhance communication and transparency regarding costs and financial aid, provide comprehensive support services like daycare, transportation, food banks and affordable housing, and implement strategies to reduce the time to degree completion for low-income, traditionally underrepresented and non-traditional students.

About Cal State San Bernardino

California State University, San Bernardino is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in Inland Southern California. Opened in 1965 and set at the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, the university serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually. The university offers more than 70 traditional baccalaureate and master’s degree programs, education credential and certificate programs, and a doctorate program in educational leadership. Every one of its eligible academic programs has earned national accreditation. CSUSB reflects the dynamic diversity of the region and has the most diverse student population of any university in the Inland Empire. More than 80 percent of those who graduate are the first in their families to do so.

For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Marketing and Communications at (909) 537-5007 and visit the Inside CSUSB news site.

About the National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH)

Founded in 1979, the National Association of Higher Education Systems (NASH) works to advance the role of multi-campus systems and the concept of systemness to create a more vibrant and sustainable higher education sector. NASH systems are comprised of more than 700 campuses and serve more than 7.5 million students in nearly every state in the United States. To learn more about NASH and its national transformation agenda, the Power of Systems, visit www.nash.edu.

About the NASH Catalyst Fund

The NASH Catalyst Fund encourages broad engagement of member systems in sharing promising practices that are leading to equitable student success outcomes scalable to fellow systems. Its impact will be far-reaching, but the concept is simple: through pooled philanthropic support, NASH can recognize and incentivize the development of our members’ big ideas that, once proven to work, have the potential to be scaled not only across a single system but amongst peers around the country.

The first round of the NASH Catalyst Fund included $275,000 to recognize hotspots of best practices that demonstrate interventions that are already underway and proving to be successful with the potential to have a catalytic impact in meeting NASH’s measurable goals. More information can be found at the Catalyst Fund website.