AVÀÇ

Dear AVÀÇ community,

At AVÀÇ, our commitment to student success guides every decision we make.

Last week, the CSU Board of Trustees endorsed a new Student Success Framework that provides a strong road map for our campus to provide evidence-informed support and resources for our students from initial enrollment through graduation and into their professional careers. Fortunately, AVÀÇ has a longstanding commitment to this work, as reflected in our own strategic plan, Future Directions, GI 2025 initiatives, and many other programs.

As part of preparing for the new CSU success framework, we had already planned a comprehensive assessment of all of our student support, success, and belonging programs to reimagine how we can optimize support services for all of our students. Now, such an assessment is an imperative as we confront an increasingly resource constrained environment that includes federal funding decreases and calls for greater accountability. As many of you are aware, these challenges have been intensified by recent federal actions.

Last week, the federal government ended funding for Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) grants that directly impact many support programs throughout the university. . Just this week, we learned our very successful McNair Scholar Program, a federal program that supports student pathways to graduate school, was discontinued as well. We are not alone. These discontinuations have impacted all of US higher education.

We are still analyzing the full impact of these cuts here at AVÀÇ. Some programs have received extensions through September 2026. Others have not. We will do all we can to reverse these decisions, but we need to be realistic. We are also preparing for the possibility that other federally-supported programs may be discontinued in the weeks ahead. In full transparency, it is unlikely that we will be able to fully replace federal dollars from our operating funds over the long-term.

We want to acknowledge the difficulty these changes elicit given the proven success of our programs and the opportunities they create for our students. We deeply empathize with the faculty, staff, and administrators who have dedicated their careers to these programs.

While this loss of federal funding is unfortunate, it will not deter us from our commitment to student success. Together we will assess our existing resources, collaborate across campus, and reimagine how to best serve all of our students within a new model. Our recent gains in enrollment and retention show that when we align our efforts, we make a real difference.

Please look for further information about our assessment of student support, success, and belonging programs and on how your voice can be heard. We are confident that, working together, we will arrive at a positive path forward.

Thank you for your continued work on our campus to provide our students with a quality education and support.

Sincerely yours,

Cathy Sandeen 
President 

Anthony Muscat 
Provost

Brenda Amenson-Hill 
Interim VP EMSA

September 18, 2025