Creative regional partnerships established by CSU San Marcos’s leadership and faculty have raised $4 million for San Marcos at Temecula from individual and organizational donors, including significant contributions from three local hospitals. In-kind donations have included instructional equipment, instructional technology, and a wide range of supplies and services. Among these are five smart classrooms, a science lab, a nursing skills lab, a fitness lab, and an outdoor field area used for the kinesiology program.
The Achievements: CSU San Marcos has used a sustained and purposeful strategy that engaged its campus’s academic strengths and its self-support capacity to develop and offer academic programs and manage regional facilities. The collaborative relationships it has developed in the region have not only grown CSU San Marcos’s own strengths but have, in turn, helped to grow the region itself. Southwest Riverside County now has access to innovative undergraduate and graduate degrees that address clear local workforce needs in nursing, the health sciences, kinesiology, and business.
Further, by offering degree programs at Temecula using the cohort format, San Marcos at Temecula encourages students to move forward to graduation at a steady pace. Using its self-support capacity, CSU San Marcos has developed a targeted portfolio of services to foster student success at Temecula. Finally, the regional relationships with communities and employers enhance the educational experience for students at San Marcos at Temecula and strengthen the link between graduates and the local economy through fieldwork projects, internships, and applied research assignments.
With this thoughtful and comprehensive strategy, CSU San Marcos has achieved a remarkable 97% graduation rate for degree students at Temecula, with a guaranteed two-year “time-to-graduation” pace for all full-time undergraduate transfer degree students. Currently, 280 students are enrolled in full-time degree programs at San Marcos at Temecula. Enrollment is expected to increase by 20% per year for the next three years. Remarkably, all this occurred on a new campus with limited resources during a time when state funding was steadily declining.
San Marcos has established a Transfer Admission Guarantee Program between San Marcos at Temecula and Mount San Jacinto community college. This transfer program provides a clear pathway for high school and community college graduates in the region by guaranteeing admission to those students who successfully complete their associate’s degree and meet CSU San Marcos undergraduate admission criteria.
San Marcos at Temecula and its programs and services have become a catalyst for partnerships between CSU San Marcos and area hospitals and health centers. The efforts in Temecula have also helped CSU San Marcos increase its reputation as an educational resource for regional leaders and a partner in the professional preparation of the region’s future leaders.
The Model Extended: CSU San Marcos offers a particularly useful model for CSU campuses that are newer, growing, or both. Using the self-support capacity to leverage and extend the state-funded core of the campus’s academic strength can build significant new capabilities and resources for the campus. Creative collaboration with the region enhances a campus’s relationships as well as its educational programs. With a well-considered strategy, a CSU campus can grow with the region its serves.
