作者：辛西娅·休伯特

2021年7月16日

萨克拉门托 State is making significant strides toward closing its “equity gap” affecting students of color, new data show.  

The University has implemented policies and practices in recent years designed to boost graduation rates for all scholars and close the gaps that have long existed between traditionally underrepresented students and others.  

Since 2016, when 囊状态 launched its “Finish in Four” and “Through in Two” campaigns as part of the CSU’s Graduation Initiative 2025 campaign, the University has seen a steady increase in the number of students of all backgrounds obtaining their degrees in a timely manner.

Projections for 2021 suggest that the trend is continuing, despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.  

For more than a year, most 囊状态 students have taken their courses online in an effort to curb spread of the virus. 对许多学生来说，这种转变很困难，他们中的一些人不得不在狭窄的宿舍里学习，设备不足，网络不稳定。  

然而，他们坚持了下来。 囊状态 projects that 26.1% of 2021 graduates will complete their degrees in four years, up from 8.8% in 2016. The two-year graduation rate for transfer students, which was 27% in 2016, now stands at 45%. 

The University has seen improvements across the board, said James Dragna, 大学倡议和学生成功执行主任. 

Perhaps most notably, the equity gap between traditionally underserved minority students and others is narrowing, according to statistics from Dragna’s office. The gap shrunk from a high of nearly 12% two years ago to a projected 4.3% this year, the data show. 

“We are encouraged by the increasing percentage of students who are graduating in four years, and even more encouraged by the shrinking equity gaps,” President Robert S. Nelsen said. “We must never lose focus of our goal to help every student graduate in a timely manner.” 

德拉格纳说，Sac州立大学的学生取得了长足的进步，这要归功于他们努力创造一种帮助各种背景的学者的文化。 这些努力包括简化招生流程，使教室更具包容性和热情。  

“We are working to create an equitable environment that works for everyone, which helps students move forward who in the past have been faced significant obstacles,” he said.  

CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro has cited educational equity as one of his top priorities. 

“I want to meet those bold Graduation Initiative 2025 goals, and accelerate the elimination of the equity gaps,” he said in a livestream interview in March with the Public Policy Institute of California. “That’s a real priority for me.” 

Improving faculty diversity and “developing an environment of belonging and mattering in the classroom” are keys to closing the gaps, said Dragna. 他说，Sac州立大学一直在努力实现自己的目标，包括审查招聘和留用做法，开展反种族主义培训，以及帮助学生在虚拟学习环境中取得成功。 

The University is on track to achieve or surpass most of the CSU’s 2025 graduation goals, Dragna said.  

视频结束后继续

 

2020、2021届毕业生享有独特的“毕业典礼”'

“We are working to create an equitable environment that works for everyone, which helps students move forward who in the past have been faced significant obstacles.” ——詹姆斯·德拉格纳 大学倡议和学生成功执行主任

As part of the system’s initiative, 囊状态 and each of the other 22 CSU campuses have added thousands of high-demand courses that are necessary for graduation, eliminating remedial courses that do not earn credits. 此外，Sac州立大学还自动为新生提供总计15个学分的课程，使他们能够及时毕业。 The University also has expanded grants and other incentives to allow more students to take summer session classes. 

“As a result of those and other activities, we now have the highest percentage of students taking summer courses in our history,” Dragna said. 多亏了这些暑期课程，更多的学生能够继续朝着获得学位和开始职业生涯的方向前进。 

The University’s recent gains in graduation rates are among the best in the CSU, and “quite possibly in the country,” Dragna said.  

“We came together and achieved something that many thought would be impossible,” he said. “It is a collaborative effort involving so many people, but most importantly the individual students who, when given the opportunity, have found a way to succeed.” 

尼尔森指出，并不是每个学生都想或需要在四年内毕业。  

“Different people take different pathways toward earning their degrees,” he said. “But the University should not be the reason a student cannot ‘finish in four.’ We need to provide pathways to graduation, not roadblocks.”