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Access to Success

The Connecticut State University System ("CSUS") has launched an unprecedented multi-year, multi-tier effort to increase the number of students entering and graduating from Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western Connecticut State Universities, with special focus on minority and low-income students, recognizing Connecticut's changing demographics and the increasing demands of global competition.

The initiative includes participation in national efforts to achieve similar goals and is part of a national partnership with the National Association of Systems Heads (NASH), and the Education Trust (EdTrust).

"Changing demographics are upon us, and it is incumbent upon us to address these changes if we are to meet the economic challenges we face here in Connecticut and across the country," said CSUS Chancellor David G. Carter.

In October 2007, CSUS was one of 20 public university systems making a public commitment to enhance student access to and success in higher education, joining an initiative spearheaded by the National Association of System Heads in partnership with the Education Trust.

The university systems agreed to publicly pursue aggressive goals aimed at improving overall student outcomes by the year 2015.

Reducing the Gaps

The primary objective of the initiative is to reduce by half the gaps in access and success that separate low-income and minority students from others, while improving overall student success rates. The initiative has the formal endorsement of the CSUS Board of Trustees and CSUS has now launched a system-wide agenda which includes both system-wide and institution specific efforts.

"Our clear objective in the years ahead can be summed up as a two-step process. First, to move prospective students to the realization that higher education is within reach - that they truly do have access to our universities. Then, we must do all we can to ensure they complete a university degree program, and build the foundation for future success"

David G. Carter
CSUS Chancellor

CSUS, with more than 35,000 students, is Connecticut's largest public university system. Undergraduate enrollment is at the highest level on record, and minority enrollment has increased 51 percent in the past decade.

However, recent forecasts predict that the number of young people with bachelor's degrees in Connecticut will shrink by more than 4% between 1993 and 2020, even as the percentage of jobs requiring a college degree continues to grow rapidly. Nationwide, nearly 30 percent of college freshmen must enroll in at least one remedial course because they are not prepared for college-level work in a particular subject. In addition, financial barriers prevent 48 percent of college-qualified high school graduates from low-income families from attending a four-year college and 22 percent from attending any college at all.

"By providing students with access to success, and supporting their efforts to achieve success, we will not only make a difference in individual lives, but in the future of our state and nation," Carter added.  As part of the initiative, special attention will be paid to managing costs and investing in student success. In addition, data will be analyzed to identify and eliminate roadblocks that slow student momentum.