PD Editorial: CSU leader set course for timely graduation

Readers may not immediately recognize the name Timothy P. White.

But over the past seven years, as chancellor of the nation's largest public university system, he has presided over an ambitious effort to enroll more students and ensure that they can complete their degrees and graduate on time, while generally holding the line on tuition.

White, 70, announced Tuesday that he will retire from California State University on June 30.

With his departure, both of California's four-year university systems will be seeking new leaders. Janet Napolitano, the president of the University of California, plans to step down next August.

In choosing their successors, state officials should look for leaders who will build on the cooperative relationship established by White and Napolitano, who successfully lobbied to reverse budget cuts and increase state support for higher education. The new chief executives also must keep both university systems laser-focused on meeting California's demand for skilled workers.

The Public Policy Institute of California predicts a shortfall of 1.1 million college graduates by 2030, putting the state at risk of curtailed economic growth, declining tax revenue and increased dependence on social safety net programs.

You don't need a Ph.D to understand what's needed to fill the gap: getting qualified students into California's community colleges and universities and ensuring that they can complete their course requirements in a timely fashion without going hopelessly in debt.

With his signature Graduation Initiative 2025, White got CSU pointed in the right direction.

In 2015, just 19% of CSU students earned a degree within four years. Six years later, that figure has grown to a record 27.5% for students who entered as freshman, putting the university well on the way to meeting White's goal of 40% by 2025 - though racial and economic disparities remain. Among transfer students, 40.4% finished their degrees in two years, also the highest ever for the CSU system.

Sonoma State University is ahead of the curve, reporting a four-year graduation rate of 40.9% for students who entered as freshman in 2015, and its 62.4% rate for transfer students is the highest in the 23-campus CSU system.

To achieve the goal of graduating more students on time, CSU campuses added course sections, counselors and faculty members and encouraged students to take a full course load each semester. In addition, uniform general education requirements were adopted across all 23 campuses, and no-credit remedial classes were eliminated during White's tenure.

After student surveys found startling levels of hunger and homelessness, CSU campuses added food pantries, and some campuses created emergency housing programs, to help students say focused on their academic goals.

Moreover, CSU boosted graduation rates came even as enrollment climbed to a record 484,000 students. And, aside from a $270 a year increase in 2017, tuition hasn't gone up during White's tenure. Meanwhile, the state general fund allocation has grown almost 50%, from $2.3 billion to $3.6 billion a year.

In an interview this week with Capital Public Radio, White, an immigrant from Argentina who was educated in California community colleges, CSU and UC, called student achievement the “north star” of his tenure as chancellor. His successor should stay on the course.

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