Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Student Success Initiative?
The Student Success Initiative is a multi-faceted effort that:
- Strengthens academic advising
- Improves course availability
- Expands library hours and improves the library technology environment
- Upgrades athletics facilities and provides additional scholarship support for students
- Increases support for learning communities, internships, the Career Center, supplemental instruction, and service-learning
- Upgrades classrooms and provides instructional software
- Strengthens cultural centers, veterans services, and Disability Support Services
- Provides upgraded technology by expanding Wi-Fi coverage and provides a new 24/7 IT help desk for students
The fee supports goals consistent with the University’s strategic plan, and help take our University to the next level while bolstering student success.
Why is the fee necessary?
State investment in higher education has been trending downward since the 1970s. In the most recent cuts, CSUF alone lost a total of $40 million in operating support from the state.
While California has begun what will hopefully be a gradual reinvestment in higher education, it is a drop in the bucket.
As a compounding factor, prior to institution of this fee, CSUF was the CSU’s lowest-funded campus per student with the third-lowest student fees, which put CSUF at an ongoing disadvantage in delivering the student experience that Titans deserve.
In fact, including CSUF, 12 of the CSU’s 23 campuses have implemented their own versions of the Student Success Fee.
What are the longer-term benefits of the Initiative? What’s the big picture?
Beyond the fee’s short-term benefits, its funded improvements help position you for enhanced post-graduation success and over the long term, enhance the value of your degree as instruction, student services, co-curricular programs, and the University’s reputation are strengthened.
How are fees included in the Student Success Fee?
The Student Success Fee will total $181 fee per semester phased in over three years beginning in Fall 2014. This fee and all student fees would be adjusted annually for inflation based on the Higher Education Price Index. (HEPI is an inflation index designated specifically for use by institutions of higher education). Linking fees to the HEPI allows the “buying power†of the funds raised through fees to remain constant over time. Only through linking this and other fees to the HEPI are these efforts sustainable over the long term.
Will this Initiative impact a student's financial aid?
The fee will be factored into the total cost of attendance, and financial aid packages will be adjusted accordingly.
Will there be appropriate oversight of funds received for the Initiative?
A committee has been formed to oversee the programmatic and fiscal management of the Student Success Initiative. The ASI President and the Vice President of Student Affairs shall serve as the co-chairs and voting members of the Student Success Initative Fee Advisory Committee (SSIFAC). Seven students shall serve as the student representation on the SSIFAC. The Committee will include one voting faculty representative, one voting representative from Student Affairs (the Vice President of Student Affairs), one representative from Academic Affairs, and one representative from Administration and Finance. The Committee will be assisted by a staff member who will serve as a non-voting member.
The purpose of the SSIFAC is to review all SSI funds, listen to proposed plans on how the SSI fees will be used, provide feedback and recommend changes on proposed plans, and communicate the allocation and implementation of the SSI funds to the CSUF campus community. The SSIFAC shall also track how the implementation of the SSI fees is impacting the student experience and success at CSUF. The SSIFAC shall also hear and address any concerns that may arise in regards to all functions of the SSI fee collection and allocation process. The SSIFAC must also ensure that the SSI fees collected are being allocated appropriately and that the SSI fees must not be utilized for any purpose, other than what they were intended for.
