With CSUCI, Access Means Opportunity

Cal State Channel Islands is scheduled to open its doors to students in 2002. This local campus is a perfect example of an extraordinary effort by a community that saw the necessity of a four-year public university for the education and cultural needs of its residents.

The CSUCI campus will hold the key to a brighter future for Ventura County students who have been prevented by lack of resources or other factors from pursuing higher education.

I know how important that is because their story is the same as my own.

I have lived and worked in California all of my life. I am a product of California public education, and my life work has been in public education.

Last November, Gov. Gray Davis appointed me to the Cal State Board of Trustees. I am honored more than I can say to be a part of this board. However, there was a time when I probably could not have imagined such a day.

I came from a family in which no one had ever attended college and with no extra money for it, but I desperately wanted to continue my education. I worked hard and asked my teachers and counselor what I needed to do to achieve my goal.

I choose Cal State Northridge because it was near my home and because I could afford the tuition if I worked part-time. Because of this system and with a lot of hard work, I was able to earn a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education at the Northridge campus and, ultimately, a doctorate in education from Pepperdine University.

Because of this firsthand experience, I have an unshakable belief in the Cal State system and what it represents for the people of California. It represents opportunity.

CSU gives all students in California access to a quality education right in their neighborhood. The degrees they earn improve their ability to succeed in the work force and become contributing members of their communities.

As a student, I did not have the resources to live anywhere but at home with my family. I was “place-bound,” or bound to my neighborhood, by my life circumstances. If a Cal State campus had not been accessible and affordable, I would not have been able to attend a four-year university.

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Most Cal State students are place-bound. Their average age, systemwide, is 26.1 years. Many have families and 79% of them work, 36% full-time. Eighty-five percent of our students are commuters and 98% come from California schools. For these reasons and others, the typical Cal State student is not able to relocate to attend a four-year university.

By 2010, CSU is expected to add 130,000 students to today’s enrollment of 360,000. Because of this surge, some campuses for the first time are being forced to restrict access for some qualified students. In March, the board of trustees approved a policy to guarantee admission to qualified students to their local CSU campus. The board wanted to ensure that eligible students would be able to attend their neighborhood university if they so desired.

Cal State Channel Islands is the result of three decades of tireless and devoted community advocacy. Through this type of effort and commitment from a community that saw a need and did something about it, CSU will remain accessible and affordable.

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Although CSUCI will not have to be concerned about turning away eligible students for some time, this neighborhood campus will offer the assurance that there is a local four-year university for qualified place-bound students.