CVHEC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE (February 2025)


Dr. Sonya Christian, California Community Colleges chancellor (second from left), and Central Valley Higher Education Consortium executive director Benjamin Duran (third from left) greeted high school student panelists at the Dual Enrollment In the Central Valley Convening 2025 – CVHEC/CVDEEP where she delivered keynote Feb. 3: Jonathan Alfaro and Ailyn Morales of Mendota High School with Principal Travis Kirby; and Isaac Dircio and Andres Medina Zapien of McFarland High (McFarland Unified School District) with Jill Jimenez and Jordynn Jimenez of McFarland High School Dual Enrollment.

CVHEC: power of collaboration – the ‘Central Valley Way’

Greetings CVHEC friends and colleagues …

This February edition of our Central Valley Higher Education Consortium newsletter continues sharing with you the great work that the boots-on-the-ground folks at our member institutions are doing to serve our students.

You will read about two convenings, the recent Central Valley Dual Enrollment Convening with 140 attendees and the Central Valley Math Task Force Convening scheduled for March 28. These two high-powered collaborations showcase the work our colleges and universities are doing in both the expansion of dual enrollment providing opportunities for high school students to take college courses while in high school, and addressing the challenging college level math courses that are essential for them to be successful in college.

Also, please make sure you read about our unique-to-California Central Valley Transfer Project.  The project has provided academic transfer pathways for Central Valley community students from our regional community colleges to the three California State Universities in the valley and UC Merced.  The outcomes from these efforts have been impressive in terms of dramatically improving transfer rates while closing the gaps between the general student population and valley students of color.  The project was designated a California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office Demonstration Project in 2023, by Chancellor Sonya Christian. We are proud to report to her that it is now ready to be disseminated to the rest of the state as a model that is ready to be replicated.

This month’s “What the CV-HEC is Happening” blog is an entry by a local attorney, Ashley Emerzian, about the legal aspects around hazing on higher education campuses.  Please enjoy her entry and we hope you learn more about the topic as you peruse the article.   Ashley has graciously offered to  submit articles highlighting higher education legal issues relevant to our region  for future CVHEC newsletters as well.

This CVHEC Board of Directors  also has a busy schedule this spring as its members – the chancellors, presidents and campus directors of our 28 member institutions of higher education in the valley — prepare for the spring quarterly board meeting and a strategic planning retreat.

Additionally, as they move forward under the leadership of CVHEC Board Chair, UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sánchez Muñoz, we  look  forward to the annual CVHEC Higher Education Summit scheduled for May 9.  Please mark your calendars and stay tuned for further details. We look forward to having you join us to continue collaborating “the Central Valley Way!”

Please enjoy our newsletter and feel free to share it with your colleagues and friends and encourage  them to subscribe.

CVDEEP Convening wrap: ‘dual enrollment at scale and with equity’


Caption

 CCC chancellor says Central California region

is state model for dual enrollment implementation

By Elaine Cash
CVHEC Dual Enrollment Co-Lead

and

Tom Uribes
CVHEC Communications Coordinator

Citing the Central Valley as the state leader and exemplary model for dual enrollment implementation, California Community College Chancellor Sonya Christian provided a powerful keynote launch for the “Dual Enrollment in The Central Valley” Convening held Feb. 5 in Fresno.

The day-long event was presented by the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium and its Central Valley Dual Enrollment for Equity and Prosperity (CVDEEP) Task Force in partnership with the California Guided Pathways Project at the Foundation for California Community Colleges.

Six interactive breakout sessions and two panels were provided for 140 educators representing secondary and postsecondary institutions from throughout the valley’s 10-county region as well as from student-supporting community programs.

California Community Colleges Chancellor Sonya Christian chats up student panelists Ailyn Morales and Jonathan Alfaro of Mendota High School prior to the Central Valley Dual Enrollment Convening 2025 Feb. 3.

Dr. Christian brought an insightful and encouraging message to the event as she emphasized Vision 2030, a bold strategy set when she was named chancellor in 2023.

“Our mission,” Dr. Christian declared, “is to work toward a future in which all California high school students enroll in community college transfer, career or apprenticeship pathways and complete high school with at least 12 units of college credit.”

Dr. Christian, a former Central Valley community college leader, noted that in 2021-2022, a goal was set to enroll 257,000 students in a dual enrollment course by 2030.  She announced that California surpassed this goal in 2023-2024 with almost 290,000 students enrolled in at least one dual enrollment course.

“The Central Valley, with over 20 percent of California dual enrollment students, is the state leader and exemplary model for dual enrollment implementation,” said the chancellor who previously served as a member of the CVHEC Board of Directors when she was president of Bakersfield College and chancellor of the Kern Community College District prior to her statewide appointment.

However, despite encouraging successes and especially the work in the Central Valley, Dr. Christian reminded her audience that 80 percent of California high school students still do not participate in dual enrollment coursework.

“So what is the work?” she asked.  “It is dual enrollment at scale and with equity.”

She cheered on the dedication of the educators convening and collaborating that day to keep improving dual enrollment pathways for valley students.

“I know all of you are engaged in making sure that you are fundamentally supporting each and every student so that they can continue on their educational pathway because that is at the core of what we do at the California Community Colleges,” Chancellor Christian said.

That dedication was reflected in the panels and breakout sessions beginning with a discussion about several models for dual enrollment through a presentation featuring partnerships between Reedley College and Sanger High School; Bakersfield College and McFarland High School; and Coalinga College and Mendota High School.

Moderated by Tressa Overstreet of the State Center Community College District (SCCCD), the “Dual Enrollment Models” Panel included Lissette Padilla, Coalinga College; Jill Jimenez, McFarland High School; Richard Aguilar, Reedley College; Travis Kirby, Mendota High School; Alma Feathers, Bakersfield College; and Carmen Garvis, Sanger High School.

Each described models of dual enrollment implementation such as Middle College; college courses on high school campuses and embedded in the master schedules; and hybrid on-campus and online programs, each suited to the unique needs that school sizes and locations require.

The breakout sessions emphasized a variety of useful elements of dual enrollment presented by successful implementers. Each presenter shared practical resources and “how to” strategies that were immediately applicable.   (See agenda for breakout topics and presenter names).

“Attendees were delighted with relevant information that stimulated conversations and promoted in-conference networking, and the exchange of phone numbers and emails to continue sharing,” said Dr. Benjamín Durán, executive director of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium who welcomed the participants in the opening session before introducing Chancellor Christian.

‘What Does This Mean for Students?’

But he noted that despite the power packed by the keynote speaker and the panels and breakout sessions, perhaps the highlight of the conference was a panel of high school students currently enrolled in dual enrollment pathway coursework.  Stan Carrizosa, president-emeritus of College of the Sequoias and now a CVHEC lead (Transfer Project), moderated the student panel, “What Does This Mean for Students?,” that closed the event.

Five students representing Sanger, Mendota and McFarland High Schools impressed the large Doubletree Inn ballroom full of educators with their straight-forward talk and thoughtful responses that described their dual enrollment experience. They articulated not only their ambition to attain a higher education – each citing the university they aspire to – but also the satisfaction of meeting the challenge of college courses that has provided a new level of self-confidence. Five of the six indicated they will be the first in their respective families to attend college.

Three of the students are seniors who are on path to earn an associate degree this spring: Andres Medina Zapien and Isaac Dircio, both of McFarland High School, will complete Bakersfield College requirements with their sights set on UC San Diego and Stanford respectively; and Saige Jones, who is enrolled in the Wonderful Ag Plant Science Pathway at Sanger High School, is completing Reedley College associate degree requirements with plans to attend Fresno State in the fall.

The other two are sophomores at Mendota High School with double majors through Coalinga College: Ailyn Morales plans to attend UC Irvine and Jonathan Alfaro is looking ahead to Fresno State then UC Berkeley.

“I believe that the college classes that I am taking are all different as they fulfill my gen ed,” Andres replied when Dr. Carrizosa asked the students what they felt was the greatest success in taking dual enrollment. “I feel like they are very beneficial because they give us new perspectives and open our minds to different things that we can do.”

When asked how dual enrollment students cope with the sacrifice  of committing time to the extra school work, Ailyn responded,  “It’s all about priorities. You have to determine what comes first, and what benefits you the most.”

Durán said the student panel detailed the challenges and advantages of participating in dual enrollment programs.

“It was heartfelt and insightful – even entertaining in its own way – as we heard the voices of the very youngsters our educators strive everyday to support for academic and personal success. Those voices bring home what we are doing right, and help reveal areas that we need to address.”

A new pre-conference session entitled “Dual Enrollment 101” was offered before the conference formally opened.  Bill Vasey of the California Academic Partnership and Sylvia Garvis of Sanger High School presented the session, which Vasey described as intended for those “that don’t feel they know a lot about dual enrollment and want to learn.”

“The conference was a full day of valuable information and relevant suggestions and resources that were well received,” said Durán.

He closed the event by informing participants that CVDEEP will reconvene in the fall to follow up the Feb. 5 discussions and urged them to complete a feedback form that will help improve future convenings

Ángel Ramírez, CVHEC finance and operations manager who coordinates consortium convenings and helps facilitate strategies, urged participants to build on the “Central Valley Way” — the power of collaboration, adding that materials and PowerPoints presented in the convening are available on the event page at the CVDEEP website.

“Let’s continue being persistent and collaborative in what we do,” Ramírez said. “This is why the Central Valley leads the state in our dual enrollment work. We look forward to coming together again at the fall convening.”

He said CVHEC now has its sights set on the upcoming 2025 California Dual Enrollment Equity Conference presented by the California Alliance of Dual Enrollment Partnerships, Career Ladders Project, and EdTrust–West Feb. 24-26 in Sacramento where the team will present on CVHEC’s Master’s Upskilling Program and the Central Valley Math Bridge.

In a survey, participants offered these comments about CVHEC’s “Dual Enrollment in The Central Valley” Convening:

  • “Student comments were raw and great!!”
  • “Hearing from other districts and high schools and what is working for them pushes me to take new ideas back to my own site!”
  • “Continue the momentum! DUAL is researched and backed as advantageous for students.”
CVDEEP Convening Feb. 3, 2025 – Photo gallery

TRANSFER PROJECT UPDATE — Persistence

Persistence: commitment with intelligence

With 2025 well into its second month, the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium presents here a look at the success of our Central Valley Transfer Project that was catapulted into the state limelight when it was declared a California Community Colleges Demonstration Project by Chancellor Dr. Sonya Christian in fall 2023. CVHEC’s Central Valley Transfer Project Lead Stan Carrizosa, president-emeritus of COS, reports that 12 of the 15 Central Valley Higher Education Consortium-member community colleges are now on board along with members UC Merced and our three CSU campuses: Bakersfield, Fresno and Stanislaus. Carrizosa updates how “the Central Valley Way” of collaboration and “working smarter, not harder” that characterizes CVHEC initiatives is spreading into a statewide effort to increase successful community college transfers with the implementation of the project’s software platform, Program Pathways Mapper (PPM). He notes that funding to implement the PPM software — which is increasing the rate of successful community college transfers who utilize it to efficiently navigate their journey to a degree or certificate — is available to any community college for their students.

BY STAN CARRIZOSA
CVHEC Central Valley Transfer Project Lead

In 2018, a group of community college leaders, meeting in the annual gathering of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium Board of Directors, heard Dr. James Zimmerman, University of California, Merced senior administrator, share an update on the number of Central Valley community college students that had successfully transferred to UC Merced.

The results were dismal, Dr. Zimmerman reported, and UC Merced asked to meet with community college officials to enact a plan to increase successful transfers to UC Merced. The Central Valley Transfer Project was born.

A pilot for the project was funded through a state grant that engaged Merced College and Bakersfield College representatives in convenings with UC Merced staff to create successful transfer pathways from community college. In the beginning, the process was slow and arduous as many details and factors needed to be discussed and incorporated into creating those pathways.

UC Merced graciously broadened the scope of the project to review the already successful Associate Degree for Transfer (ADT) pathways for transfer to CSUs. One-by-one different majors were reviewed, and UC Merced began accepting the ADTs as fulfilling the lower division requirements for successful transfer.

The pilot project ended with both Merced and Bakersfield College having approved multiple ADTs that would fulfill requirements for successful transfer to UC Merced.

The tool for combing combining? these lower division courses with their upper division requirements at UCM is a software platform called Program Pathways Mapper (PPM). PPM is a public-facing, internet-based URL that is easily accessible for students, parents, teachers, counselors and advisors. It is an application that is uploaded on our smart phone that enables us to see the lower division courses required for an ADT and the upper division coursework at the four-year college to complete a degree in the corresponding discipline major.

Taking it statewide – PPM funding available for colleges

PPM has since expanded and is now used statewide by community colleges, CSUs and UCs. It became such an advantage for students that a request was made for the state budget to fund the one-time costs for joining PPM and was approved by the Governor Newsome and California Legislature in 2022. Any community college can receive funding if requested to implement PPM for their students.

This combination of highly efficient convening protocols combined with easily accessible mapping software has spread across the state. In the Central Valley, all but three of the 15 community colleges are now on board along with UC Merced, CSU Bakersfield, Fresno State and CSU Stanislaus.

State Community College Chancellor Dr. Sonya Christian declared the Central Valley Transfer Project a statewide Demonstration Project in her newly adopted “Vision 2030.” The CSU and UC system’s CEOs have also endorsed the Transfer Project and statewide effort to increase successful community college transfers.

Each step along the way, the Central Valley Transfer Team has tried to work smart by leveraging existing structures including ADTs and even dual enrollment for some community college’s by aligning and connecting these structures increasing their effectiveness for successful transfers. This type of intersegmental collaboration requires patience and, more than anything, persistence.

The natural resistance to change is ever-present. A feeling of “initiative overload” and fatigue exist, and the inertia inherent in any bureaucracy requires persistence which we have come to define as commitment with intelligence, often referred to as “working smarter, not harder.”

What the data shows

Baseline data on results are very encouraging. A control group of 5,000 incoming freshman to Bakersfield College were tracked comparing PPM users and non-PPM users over their first two semesters. Leaving all other recruitment services and outreach efforts in place the only variable that differed for these groups were those who used PPM to work their education plan and those who did not.

A review of the percentage of on-path course completion was measured among both groups to see if PPM provided any advantage in increasing students’ completion of required courses on-path to their degree. Both groups were reviewed for the number of units to degree in hopes that PPM would help reduce the number of unnecessary units completed.

Perhaps most importantly, tracking the differences in percentage of on-path course completion rates between subgroups of students by ethnicity addresses equity in success among different groups.

See our results in the graphics above.

Once Chancellor Christian designated this a Demonstration Project in her Vision 2030, the Central Valley way has begun to influence positive results for students statewide and beyond. The success of the project now reaches as far north as UC Santa Cruz all the way south to UCLA and UC Irvine. Community college transfer to the CSU system make up 50 percent of all their successful graduates.

Increasing successful transfers is a very effective strategy in the quest to increase four-year degree attainment!

INFO: Stan A. Carrizosa, Sr., –  scarrizosa44@gmail.com

Ángel Ramírez – 559.278.0576 or centralvalleyhec@gmail.com

CVHEC media inquiries: Tom Uribes – cvheccommunications@mail.fresnostate.edu or text 559.348.3278.

CVHEC’s Central Valley Transfer Project story:

‘What the CV-HEC is Happening’ Blog: Stop Campus Hazing Act

This edition of the “What the CV-HEC is Happening “ Blog for the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium February newsletter features Fresno attorney Ashley Emerzian of Emerzian Shankar Legal Inc. providing insights into the Stop Campus Hazing Act that was signed into law by President Biden in December, and the newly enhanced Clery Act that requires universities to include hazing data in their annual Clery Reports as well as publish a separate report which describes hazing violations. She reports that “staggering” statistics on higher education campus hazing have been widely reported in recent years and presents key areas of compliance that institutions of higher education will need to implement this year including deadlines and penalties such as loss of federal financial aid funding for Clery violations. She is joined in this blog by law partner Jenna Cummings and Pamela Schock of CVHEC-member Fresno Pacific University.

New year, new laws:
the Stop Campus Hazing Act is now in effect

By Ashley N. Emerzian, Esq. and Jenna Cummings, Esq.,
Emerzian Shankar Legal Inc.

and Pamela Schock, M.A., Assistant Dean of Student Development
Fresno Pacific University

In higher education, the number of laws and regulations impacting operations – everything from facilities to human resources and student affairs – is numerous and constantly changing.  2025 is trending towards more of the same.

One of the most recent new laws impacting the higher education sector is the new federal Stop Campus Hazing Act (“Act”).  On December 11, 2024, the Senate passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act, which President Biden signed into law on December 24, 2024. The Act applies to all institutions of higher education in the United States that receive federal funding under Title IV.

Statistics on higher education campus hazing have been widely reported in recent years and are, in many ways, staggering.  A prominent national study conducted in 2008 found that more than half of college students involved in a club, team, or other organization experience some form of campus hazing.[1]  In athletics, the same study reported that 74% of students involved in varsity athletics programs experienced hazing.[2]  This includes forced or coerced alcohol consumption, humiliation, isolation, sleep-deprivation, or sex acts – which were found by the study to be common across student groups, and across various types of higher education institutions.

Risks to higher education institutions of this behavior occurring on campus are also wide-ranging, including managing student harm and discipline resulting from the conduct, student attrition, negative press, and complex overlays with a variety of laws including Title IX, the Violence Against Women Act, and the Clery Act.

The newly enhanced Clery Act, which already required universities to collect and report data regarding crimes on or around campus, now requires universities to include hazing data in their annual Clery Reports. The Act also requires universities to publish a separate report which describes hazing violations. Key areas of compliance Universities will need to implement this year are addressed below.

Clery Report Requirement

Starting January 1, 2025, universities must collect data on hazing incidents reported to campus security or police, even if the incidents occur within student organizations that are not officially recognized by the university. Importantly, the Act defines a student organization as any organization that involves two or more members of the higher education institution. This presents unique jurisdictional considerations for universities to grapple with, particularly if they are typically used to enforcement of policies and procedures only for recognized organizations.

Additionally, universities must begin including this hazing data in their annual Clery Reports, starting with their 2025 Clery Report, which is due October 1, 2026.  So, what is hazing?

The Act provides a comprehensive definition of hazing incidents which must be logged.  The definition includes, but is not necessarily limited to, any “intentional, knowing, or reckless act” committed by one or more persons against another person, regardless of whether the victim participates willingly, that is part of an initiation or in affiliation with a student organization.  Examples include causing, coercing, or otherwise inducing: whipping, beating, electric shock, placing harmful substances on one’s body; sleep deprivation, confinement in small spaces, extreme calisthenics; consumption of food, drug, alcohol or other substances; criminal acts; placing one in reasonable fear of bodily harm through threatening words or conduct; or sexual acts.

Publishing of Hazing Policies

Universities must begin publishing their hazing policies no later than June 24, 2025. These publications may be based on the university’s own definition of hazing instead of the act’s definition. However, deviations from the Acts definition should be considered carefully and in consultation with student affairs administration and legal counsel.  The policies must include information on how to report hazing, how hazing is investigated, as well as state and local laws on hazing. The disclosure must also describe hazing prevention and awareness programs.

Campus Hazing Transparency Report

In addition to including hazing data in their annual Clery Report, institutions must begin publishing a separate report, called a Campus Hazing Transparency Report, by December 24, 2025. The report must include information about student organizations that have been found in violation of the institution’s hazing policy. Unlike the Clery Report, this report only needs to include information about recognized or established student organizations. The report must include specific details about the hazing violations, such as the names of the student organizations found responsible, descriptions of the violations, sanctions imposed, and whether alcohol and drugs were involved. Universities must exclude personally identifiable information of involved students from this report in order to comply with FERPA.

Universities’ first transparency report should include information dating back to July 1, 2025. Institutions must update the Report at least two (2) times a year with information regarding new hazing violations and keep each report publicly available on their website for five (5) years after publication.

Penalties

The Department of Education may impose civil monetary penalties for violations of the Clery Act where the institution is found to have “substantially misrepresented the number, location, or nature of the crimes required to be reported.” The current maximum penalty is $69,733 per violation; however, this maximum will be readjusted for inflation in 2025. Additionally, institutions can lose their federal financial aid funding for Clery violations.

As we look forward to 2025, it is recommended that universities begin coordinating their departments to begin implementation of these requirements, including the policy development work that will need to be completed this spring.

For more information, contact Ashley at aemerzian@eslegalinc.com

[1] National Study of Student Hazing, Hazing in View:  Students at Risk, Dr. Elizabeth Allan and Dre. Mary Madden, 2006-2008.

[2] Id.

Math Task Force sets next AB1705 convening March 28

Read more

MEMBER NEWS: UOP tackling valley’s health care shortage with Hearst grant

UOP: Hearst Foundation supports

physician assistant program with new grant

 

University of the Pacific’s Master of Physician Assistant Studies program is receiving $200,000 from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation to provide scholarships for students from underserved areas with the aim of increasing the health care workforce in these areas.

“We are grateful for the support from The William Randolph Hearst Foundation and Hearst Foundations’ Executive Director Dino Dinovitz,” said Pacific President Christopher Callahan, who previously served as chair of the Hearst Awards Steering Committee. “The foundation’s generosity has helped so many of our programs and initiatives. This grant will allow our students to focus on their academics as they train to become health care providers, filling an urgent need in the community.”

The Hearst Foundation has a history of supporting Pacific and its programs since 1968.

“We are proud to partner with leading institutions like University of the Pacific to help ensure people of all backgrounds have an opportunity to build healthy, productive and inspired lives,” Dinovitz said. “The Foundations are pleased to provide scholarships for students in the Master of Physician Assistant Studies program to address the shortage of health care professionals in California.”

California’s Central Valley, with a focus on San Joaquin County and neighboring counties, will be the priority area for recruiting from and returning graduates for added service, said Nicoleta Bugnariu, founding dean of Pacific’s School of Health Sciences.

“Physician assistants are well positioned to work as primary care providers,”  Bugnariu said. “The Central Valley is one of the most underserved health care areas in California, and it is a geographic target area for the School of Health Sciences.”

U.S. News and World Report ranks physician assistant as No. 2 in a report of the best health care jobs. Employment growth for physician assistants is expected to increase more than 28% between 2023 and 2033, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Physician assistants work in a variety of health care settings, from outpatient care to operating rooms.

Pacific opened a new building for the physician assistant program on the Sacramento Campus earlier this year.

Physician assistant students have 15 months of classroom work and 12 months of clinical rotations. Professor and Program Director Tracey DelNero said there were 2,400 applicants vying for 75 spots for the spring 2025 cohort.

“Our alumni are poised to provide care across all medical and surgical specialties and receive advanced procedural skills training,” DelNero said. “We recruit and train students in California’s Central Valley. Nearly 50% of the alumni remaining in California provide care in these same medically underserved areas.”

The Hearst Foundation also has provided student scholarships and supported COVID pandemic relief, pediatric oral health care and much more at Pacific over the years.

See UOP press release (Dec. 11, 2024).

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