At convocation on Thursday, President Ronald Rochon and university leaders celebrated Cal State Fullerton’s fall semester and its significant progress in graduation rates.
But they also acknowledged that the largest university in the CSU needs to continue improving outcomes amid an era of rapid change in higher education.
“If ever there was a time when communities needed institutions like Cal State Fullerton to prepare people for purposeful careers and meaningful lives, it is right now,” Rochon told a packed audience at Meng Hall. “Together, we must rise to this occasion.”
Cal State Fullerton has experienced unprecedented enrollment in recent years – now at 46,000– but it must confront the same inevitable challenges as its peers nationwide: declining birth rates nationwide, increased competition for students and growing public skepticism about the value of a college degree.
Rochon said the charge for Cal State Fullerton is not to fill seats. It is to prepare students for graduation, a job and more – leadership, service and meaningful lives.
“Their future depends on it. And so does ours,” he said.
To address the students’ needs for greater support at various points on their journey from matriculation to graduation, he urged the Titan community to embrace three core commitments that will build on the university’s recent gains in graduation rates, as well as prepare students for jobs, leadership, resilience, and service. Those commitments are:
- 1. Guide every student across the finish line to graduation
- 2. Prepare every Titan for life beyond graduation
- 3: Build a culture where every student feels seen
“Graduation is not the only metric of a successful college experience,” Rochon said. ”Students thrive when they feel connected, valued and supported through their entire academic journey.”
The president’s three commitments are rooted in the shared foundations of the Fullerton Forward and CSU Forward plans, but they are also deeply personal because of his own experience attending Tuskegee University as a first-generation college student years ago.
When he began taking classes, “I didn’t even know what a credit hour was,” he said, and explained that this moment of embarrassment was one of several experiences that raised doubts. He began to question whether he belonged in college – a sign of impostor syndrome.
Rochon said he persisted, graduated and was transformed by his time at Tuskegee enough to become a professor because of influential staff and faculty he met along the way.
Ultimately, his experience shaped his belief that every student deserves the same opportunity to succeed, he said.
Continuous improvement
Other speakers on Thursday reinforced Rochon’s call for commitment. They highlighted important indicators of student success that will guide university’s efforts and resources to the students who need it most. They also called for faculty and staff to remain dedicated and united in ensuring students succeed.
Su Swarat, senior associate vice president for institutional effectiveness and planning, explained that since 2015, the four-year graduation rate among first-time, first-year Cal State Fullerton students has nearly doubled from 22% to 42%, while the six-year rate has improved from 62% to 68%.
More transfer students are also earning their degrees, she said. Over that same period, both graduation rates for transfer students increased 6 percentage points: the two-year rate rose to 42% and the four-year rate rose to 80%.
Despite this progress, retention is a sticking point. Swarat has diagnosed the issue: some students are abandoning their journey at Cal State Fullerton by their second year.
The university is under a deadline to triage the situation; the CSU has set new objectives to improve graduation rates starting with the fall 2027 cohort.
“The Chancellor’s Office has tasked us to achieve a first-time, first-year, four-year graduation rate of 55.1% – and a transfer two-year graduation rate of 50%,” Swarat said.
“I know what you are thinking – ‘How on Earth do we do that?’ We start from the moment when students arrive here,” Swarat said. “We ensure they have a successful first year and that they stay with us into the second year.”
“Student success is everyone’s responsibility ” — Sean E. Walker, provost and vice president of academic affairs
The data itself is not prescriptive, but Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Sean E. Walker said continuous improvement will require university-wide collaboration.
“Student success is everyone’s responsibility,” he said.
He noted that the task is not easy. Recent cohorts of students arrive at campus with heavy loads that may impact their academic journeys.
Many are reeling from mental health issues that may stem from any one of these events that upended lives: wildfires, climate change, disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, the rising use of artificial intelligence, and now, the financial and psychological stress of a volatile economy.
The university has to evolve in multiple aspects to serve, teach and prepare these students for graduation and life beyond college.
“Our work is still rewarding, still very much worth the effort, despite the world outside our gates having gotten heavier,” he said. “Rethinking how we meet the needs of today’s students and employees will be key. How we teach, how we support, how we operate.”
Academic Senate Chair Amir Dabirian echoed that sentiment.
“We cannot resolve these crises,” he said. “But we can make a difference and be responsible for everything that happens to our students from the day they set foot on our campus, and the decades that follow.”
The effort required to achieve student success may seem daunting, but speaker Daniel Martin, a staff representative at Academic Senate who works for human resources and inclusive excellence, is optimistic.
He said the university’s dedicated staff and faculty already work cohesively with each other to help the students.
He suggested that the new Titan Statue on campus is an excellent metaphor for their relationships, with each part working together to support students on their educational journeys.
But only a student can clearly express what keeps them on track to graduate. That message came from Cesar Mendoza, president of Associated Students Inc., who is a first-generation college student from Bakersfield, California.
“I didn’t come to Cal State Fullerton with a roadmap for how to navigate college. There was a lot I didn’t know,” he shared. “Along the way, I learned something very important: I didn’t have to figure it all out by myself.”
Mendoza said professors challenged him to think critically, staff helped him navigate important decisions, and mentors encouraged him to take chances.
“My journey at Cal State Fullerton has become so much more than just earning a degree,” said Mendoza, now in his third-year with a major in business administration-finance. “I found opportunities to get involved, meet people with experiences completely different from my own and eventually serve my fellow students as ASI president.”
He is just one of thousands of students whose lives have been transformed by the support, encouragement and opportunities they have discovered at Cal State Fullerton, Mendoza said.
“Sometimes the difference between finding your way and feeling completely lost is one person willing to point you in the right direction,” he said. “Students succeed because people across this campus care.”