California State University, Fullerton
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY
California State University, Fullerton is committed to creating an atmosphere in which all students have the right to participate fully in its programs and activities free from unlawful discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

California State University (CSU) Executive Order 1097, “Systemwide Policy Prohibiting Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation, Sexual Misconduct, Dating and Domestic Violence, and Stalking against Students and Systemwide Procedure for Addressing Such Complaints by Students” was issued in response to the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (the SaVE Act) and related guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, addressing Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972. https://calstate.policystat.com/policy/10454581/latest/

It is the policy of the CSU that no student or applicant for admission as a student shall, on the basis of protected status, be unlawfully excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of any CSU program or activity. Nor shall a student or applicant for admission as a student be otherwise subjected to unlawful discrimination, harassment or retaliation for exercising any rights under this executive order.

Discrimination is prohibited by Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Sections 508 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Act, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, including all subsequent amendments and administrative regulations adopted thereunder by the Department of Education and Department of Labor.

Employees and students who violate CSU Executive Orders 1096 and 1097 may be subject to discipline. If employee discipline is appropriate it shall be administered in a manner consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements, CSU policies and legal requirements. Discipline of a student shall be administered in accordance with Section 41301 of Title 5, California Code of Regulations and CSU Executive Order 1098, or any superseding executive order, if applicable.

The website URL where more information about the institution’s discrimination response policy, program and/or team is available:

https://hr.fullerton.edu/diep/dhr/

The University has a Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation (DHR) Administrator and Title IX Office to ensure that discrimination, primarily due to both federal and California protected statuses, is addressed and responded to in an orderly, fair way. The University has two policies – Executive Order 1096 (for staff and third parties) and Executive Order 1097 (for students) that explicitly prohibit discrimination and harassment based on the legally protected statuses. Both executive orders also prohibit retaliation due to a person’s exercising rights and responsibilities under the orders. Concerns related to sex or gender discrimination or harassment are addressed by the Title IX Office, while concerns related to any other protected status or to retaliation are addressed by the DHR Administrator.

The Executive Orders require all employees (with very limited exceptions) to report known or suspected DHR incidents to either the Title IX Office or DHR Administrator. This responsibility is made known to all employees in many ways – at Employee Orientation, a 30 minute annually-required online training, an annual message to all employees, etc. Once an allegation is received by either Title IX Office or DHR Administrator, they have 10 working days to meet with the person who is alleged to have experienced the discrimination (often reports of discrimination come from concerned observers). Generally, attempts to meet with the alleged victim are made through email and telephone. Assuming contact is made and the person is agreeable to meet, an “Intake Meeting” is held where the potential Complainant is informed of all the rights under the policy, how the matter may be handled, and is asked to share their experience.

Those who feel they have been discriminated against, may either ask to proceed under an ‘Early Resolution’ process or investigation. The ‘Early Resolution’ process is designed to quickly resolve the concern of discrimination with the Respondent without the University (through the Title IX Office or DHR Administrator) making an actual finding of discrimination, harassment or retaliation. An investigation is designed to determine what most likely occurred, and if what most likely occurred violated the non-discrimination policy. The method to resolve this is the choice of the potential Complainant. However, on occasion the allegation is so egregious that the University reserves the right to conduct an investigation into the matter on its own initiative.

A third method to address the concern is to informally advise a person accused of discrimination to stop the conduct (if true), and warn that the alleged conduct may potentially be a violation of policy. This method is typically used in instances when the potential Complainant is not willing to formally complain, but simply would like the conduct to stop.

If an investigation is conducted, and there is a finding of discrimination against an employee, the matter is referred to the University HR Labor and Employee Relations unit for resolution. If there is a finding against a student, it is referred to the Director of Student Conduct.

The University takes these matters seriously. At any time someone seeks support beyond simply going through the reporting process, campus, and off-campus resources are made available. The University provides free counseling to students through Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), to employees through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), a confidential advocate is available, interim measures are enacted, “no-contact” orders as well, etc. They goal is to ensure that all feel supported by the University.
Further samples of student support are shown below.

STUDENT SUPPORT
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The University and the Title IX Coordinator can assist students with multiple reporting options, as well as with academic support or accommodations, or changes to University-based living or working schedules, or assist with adjustments to course schedules. Only the University and the Title IX Coordinator can assist with those matters.

www.fullerton.edu/titleix/

The campus has a confidential Sexual Assault Victim’s Advocate. She is a confidential reporting source for issues of sexual misconduct, dating violence, domestic violence and stalking.

She assists with:

Crisis support and safety planning
Accompaniment to medical exams
Law enforcement interviews
Court or campus hearings
Referrals to campus and community resources for support or aftercare

Campus Counseling & Psychological Services (CAP) also provides crisis counseling services to assist students with urgent situation, emergencies or serious psychological concerns. Students in crisis may walk in to the Student Wellness Center from 8 am to 4:30 pm, Monday through Friday to be seen. After business hours students may speak with a live counselor by calling 657-278-3040.

Case management support services are also available at CAP to help the student’s psychosocial needs that may be impacting their daily functioning. This support is provided by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Students may also seek medical attention at the Student Health Center.

The campus also contracts with a group called Waymakers. They have Certified Sexual Assault Counselors that respond 24 hours a day, seven days a week via a rape crisis hotline, to police departments and hospitals and through two rape crisis centers. Comprehensive and confidential services are provided to victims of rape and other sexual assaults.

https://www.fullerton.edu/titleix/resources/confidential.php

HRDI DHR Administrator oversees inquiries about employee-related discrimination, harassment, and retaliation based on protected status, a disability or medical condition.

CSUF does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, veteran status, gender identity or sexual orientation in its programs and activities as required by Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act of 1972, the American with Disabilities Act of 1990, Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other applicable statutes and University policies including EO 1097 and EO 1096. The protected classes listed above are not exhaustive.

Furthermore, the university publishes a document that is part of CSU Executive Order 1095, entitled "RIGHTS AND OPTIONS FOR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT,
DATING AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND STALKING". A copy of this document is attached. It can also be found on the campus website at:

http://www.fullerton.edu/titleix/docs/Rights_and_Options_EO1095_Attach_C_current.pdf

BIAS RESPONSE TEAM
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The University also has a Bias Response Team. Whereas the Title IX Office or DHR Administrator generally respond to individual incidents of discrimination, the Bias Response Team is charged with responding to incidents that target the larger University community. The team, consisting of members from Housing, University Police, Dean of Students, Diversity Inclusion and Equity Program, among others, reacts immediately to reported incidents of discrimination against the community. Things such as vandalism, offensive protects, etc. Typically, notice is provided to the Dean of Students, who depending on the nature of the allegation will contact a campus partner to address the matter. For example, spray-painted vandalism in a public space likely would result in an immediate call to Facilities to paint over the offensive language. After providing an initial response, the team will converse over email to immediately determine next steps. Those steps may be a communication to the entire University community, the specific targeted community, determining if the incident is isolated or part of a trend.

The Bias Response Team is initiating an online reporting form: https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?CSUFullerton&layout_id=3

In the last three years, there have been countless examples of the response protocol being put in action. It would be too difficult to highlight a particular example(s) of the response protocol related to allegations made to the Title IX Office or DHR Administrator. However, fortunately the Bias Response Team is not called upon as often. In the last three years, the Bias Response Team had to respond to the upcoming campus lecture by a controversial speaker. Being proactive, the team planned on how to respond to community members who felt offended by the speaker’s presence and speech on campus. The team determined to ask the President to put out a message of the University’s values, let people know of campus resources such as the DHR Administrator, Counseling and Psychological Services and University Police. Another example was the discovery of a swastika spray-painted across the street from campus. In that instance, with the discovery occurring early in the morning before most people came to campus, the offensive symbol was immediately painted over, the Response Team contacted, and it was recommended that a message should be shared with the University community by the President, with a reminder of our values and reminder of University resources for those affected by knowledge that such a symbol would be used adjacent to our campus.

PROGRAMS TO RECRUIT STUDENTS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS
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High School Visits
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During the Fall and Spring semesters, our professional counselors provide pre-admission presentations, college fairs, and application workshops.

College Fairs/Community Events
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Our professional counselors represent Cal State Fullerton at college fairs held by local and out of local high schools and community organizations in Orange County, Los Angeles County, and Riverside County.

Presentations/Workshops
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CSUF Highlights: Focuses on CSUF’s admission requirements, academic programs, support services, housing options, and student involvement opportunities.

EAP: The Early Assessment Program is an academic preparation program to help high school students meet college readiness standards in English language arts and Mathematics before beginning their first semester at a CSU campus.

Senior Timeline: Covers basic college application and admission timeline. Also focuses on important deadlines, resources on exploring college options, and tips for navigating through senior year.

College Transition: Highlights major parts of making a smooth college transition. Also provides deadlines and tips for students and parents as they go through their academic journey.

CSU Application Workshop: Much like Financial Aid Nights, Application Nights are held in October to help students apply for CSU’s.

Financial Aid Night: Schools are open for extended hour for students to c fill out their FAFSA Application, or for parents and students to sit in on presentations about different financial aid opportunities.

Lunch/ Afterschool Workshops: In collaboration with the Counseling Office, a variety of lunch and/or after-school workshop may be arranged for students to take advantage of such as Cal State Apply Application, CSUF Student Portal Navigation, Financial Aid and more.

Targeted Recruiting Outreach

CSUF SUPER SUNDAY
Every February, CSUF staff go to African-American churches to speak about the importance of attending college, as well as recruiting students to attend Cal State Fullerton.

SPECIAL OUTREACH
The campus has two Phone-a-thons every March. The first one targets African-American students and invites them to tour the campus and/or attend CSUF. The second one targets new African-American transfer students. They encourage the students to choose CSUF.

APIDA CONNECT
This is an outreach program for students that identify as Asian-American or Pacific Islander. Working together with the campus Asian Pacific American Resource Center, ORO makes presentations to community college students who identify as Asian-American or Pacific Islander. They encourage students to transfer to CSUF and explain the help and support available to them.

COLLABORATION WITH CSUF EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
Educational Partnerships provides opportunities aimed at helping students progress onto college and be successful throughout the higher education pipeline. We believe in fostering collaborative relationships with schools, districts, and community organizations to provide enriching educational experiences that impact the lives of students, especially those who come from first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented backgrounds.

PROGRAMS

Educational Talent Search
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Educational Talent Search (ETS) provides students with the necessary support services to pursue a higher education. Our program is focused on assisting participants with preparing to have as many post-secondary options as possible. Educational Talent Search is a federal department of Education TRIO program designed to centrally assist low-income and potential first generation college students at the following Anaheim Union High School District Schools (AUHSD) with enrolling and preparing to succeed in college.

The Educational Talent Search program is completely free for participants and is 100% grant funded.

http://www.fullerton.edu/talentsearch/

Gear Up
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Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is committed to increasing the number of underrepresented students from low-income backgrounds who enter and succeed in postsecondary education. In partnership with Anaheim Union High School District, the project serves a cohort of students beginning the 7th grade and follows their successes through high school graduation. Cal State Fullerton has received three six-year grants from the U.S. Department of Education since the GEAR UP program began in 1999.

Onsite student programs provided:
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Academic support via tutoring
Pre-college counseling plans to guide students toward completing university admission requirements
Summer programs that encourage students to pursue a postsecondary education while providing them with academic content that will prepare them for the new academic year

Parent services provided:
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Parent Monthly Meetings
Coffee with the Principal
Summer Leadership Programs
College Tours and Other Support

These services aim to support school efforts to develop and provide engagement activities to increase parent knowledge of postsecondary education and financing options. Parents learn how to engage in their children’s education and become advocates for their future postsecondary plans.

http://www.fullerton.edu/gearup/

UPWARD BOUND
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The Upward Bound Program provides fundamental support in preparing high school scholars for college success. The program provides early exposure to research and scholarly activities that provide opportunities for scholars to succeed in high school and ultimately in higher education.

Upward Bound serves high school scholars from low-income families and high school scholars from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase the rate at which scholars succeed and complete high school and enroll in and graduate from college.

UPWARD BOUND NORTH
The Upward Bound North program has been funded since September 2017 and currently serves 62 students at Savanna High School in the Anaheim Union High School District, and at Fullerton Union High School in the Fullerton Joint Union High School District.

UPWARD BOUND SANTA ANA
The Upward Bound Santa Ana program has been continuously funded since 1992 and currently serves 90 students at Century High School, Valley High School, Saddleback High School and Santa Ana High School in the Santa Ana Unified School District.

http://www.fullerton.edu/upwardbound/

The Division of Human Resources, Diversity and Inclusion guides and assists faculty, staff and administration to ensure equal employment opportunity and foster a diverse and inclusive work environment. The Office of Outreach, Recruitment and Orientation carries out the campus recruitment efforts to reach underrepresented groups. Through the provision of consultation and training, the Office will be responsible for promoting the recruitment and retention of a diverse and highly qualified staff and faculty. More specifically, the Office's duties include:

• Monitoring staff and faculty recruitment to ensure compliance with federal equal employment opportunity laws.

• Providing diversity recruitment training, with respect to strategies and procedures, to search committees.

• Compiling the annual federal affirmative action report and communicating the relevant demographic data to the administration and to faculty search committees.

• Providing diversity training to departments in an effort to address climate concerns and foster cross-cultural communication.

• Building resources that search committees may rely upon to better ensure a large, diverse and highly qualified applicant pool.

• Acting as a liaison between ethnicity-based community groups and organizations, to strengthen external relations and favorably influence CSUF recruitment and retention efforts.

• Acting as an HRDI liaison with each of the employee resource groups (ERGs) on campus, to offer support and recommend linkages between their work and the University's Strategic Plan.

• Working in partnership with the staff and director of Employment Services, to reconcile the efforts of both units, toward achieving a highly qualified and diverse faculty and staff.

• Providing the leadership required to ensure that HRDI successfully continues its role as a cultural architect, moving the University toward meaningful change--beneficial to students, staff, faculty and administration.

For more information on campus diversity and inclusion policies, please visit:
http://hr.fullerton.edu/diversity/

CSUF offers a variety of programs to facilitate the successful academic, professional and personal experience of underrepresented groups. Selected examples include:

SUPPORT FOR UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS
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Disabled Student Services
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The mission of the Office of Disabled Student Services at California State University, Fullerton is to increase access and retention for students with permanent and temporary disabilities by ensuring equitable treatment and opportunity in all aspects of campus life. The program acts as a catalyst and agent for compliance with Federal, State, and CSU laws, regulations, and policies mandating equal opportunity and access for persons with disabilities. Disabled Student Services provides co-curricular and academically-related services which empower students with disabilities to achieve academic and personal self-determination.

Current students are offered accommodations as required for their success. These accommodations include:

Furniture Accommodations
Assistance for Department of Rehabilitation students
Dispute Resolution Procedure
Workshops and Groups
*Healthy Relationship Group
*Discussion Group
*Study Skills Workshop Series
*DSS Connect
Accessible Technology Team
Notetaking Accommodations
Exam Proctoring Services & Accommodations
Peer mentoring
Special Class--Career/Life Planning: Disability Awareness and Advocacy
Dedicated Counselor for DSS students:

http://www.fullerton.edu/DSS/

Student Support Services
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Student Support Services is a federally funded program that assists first generation and low-income and disabled college students to graduate with their bachelor’s degree within 6 years. SSS is one of eight TRIO programs which are federal outreach and student services programs designed to identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. As of 2014 there are 1,027 SSS programs across the United States and the U.S. Territories serving the academic needs of 202,492 college students nationwide.

The goal in SSS is to support and motivate college students who are first generation or low-income or have a disability to increase the college retention and graduation rates of all participants. The SSS program at CSUF is a part of the Student Academic Services unit within the Division of Student Affairs.

The SSS program at CSUF is committed to serve 160 participants each year from the date they join SSS until they graduate. SSS will provide opportunities for academic development, assist with basic college requirements, foster an institutional climate supportive of low-income students, first generation college students, transfer students, and students with disabilities, and increase the number of students from underrepresented backgrounds who pursue graduate studies.

The support for these students includes:

*Academic Advisement:
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Each SSS participant is assigned an SSS academic counselor. Each individualized SSS counseling session ensures that their academic plan is updated and followed. The SSS counselor challenges students to clarify their goals and then helps them set action plans into place to accomplish their goals

Equipment Loan
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A limited number of mini laptop computers, graphing and business calculators are available to SSS students for loan each semester.

Office Computer & Printer
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A desktop computer & limited printing is available for SSS student use in the SSS main office.

Workshops and Study Skills Courses
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SSS will keep an updated calendar of all the appropriate workshops, conferences and events on campus on this website for all student reference.

Financial Aid Assistance
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Assistance with annual FAFSA renewal and updated regarding financial aid status

SSS Grant Aid
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The SSS Trio Grant is awarded to active SSS participants who are Pell Grant recipients and meet financial need and academic criteria.

Fiscal Responsibility
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The SSS Program recognizes the importance of money management whether it is as a college student on a limited budget, a recent graduate handling major finances for the first time or as a thriving professional who has a substantial income to properly manage. Your SSS counselor will direct you to services that the SSS program finds valuable to assist students make responsible financial decisions.

Career and Graduate/Professional School Advisement
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Whether the student's goals are planning a career or pursuing a graduate degree, they receive assistance with the preparation and application process. Students can also take advantage of conferences, workshops and tours of graduate and professional schools.

Faculty and Staff Associations

CSUF currently has seven faculty and staff associations that provide community and support to any faculty and staff that wish to join these groups. These associations are social identities based and welcomed to anyone. The seven faculty staff associations are:

• African American Faculty and Staff Association
• Asian American Pacific Islander Faculty and Staff Association
• Chicano/Chicana Faculty and Staff Association
• Pride Alliance
• Researchers and Critical Educations
• Undocumented and Allies Faculty and Staff Association
• Veterans Staff and Faculty Association

These seven associations host networking events to build community among and between different minorized groups on campus. Executive board members from each association meet on a bi-monthly basis to share information on events and their operation protocols for professional development.

Each association manages their own set of members that pay membership dues. The dues are then utilized to support different programs on campus such as cultural graduation ceremonies, scholarships, and professional development for its members.

In the 2018-2019 academic year, three new faculty and staff associations were started. The Undocumented and Ally Faculty and Staff Association and Veterans Staff and Faculty Association are brand new groups that started and Pride Alliance returned to campus after a 3 year hiatus. These new associations were started to provide visibility to these often invisible social identities on campus and also provide support in navigating the campus culture and building community on and off campus to our faculty and staff members.

These seven associations serve as welcome committees to new minorized faculty and staff members on campus. The networking and monthly meetings from these associations serve as a place for new faculty and staff members to learn more about the campus and community through the lens of these identities. Moreover, the collaboration and connection between executive board members help to showcase intersecting identities and create more points of connect for our faculty and staff. Current members get the benefit of continued social and professional support from their membership through socializing and networking opportunities, leadership position on executive boards, and community service to students on campus and the local community.

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Cal State Fullerton

This site is maintained by Student Support Services Program.

Last Published 3/12/19

To report problems or comments with this site, please contact sss@fullerton.edu.
© California State University, Fullerton. All Rights Reserved.

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http://www.fullerton.edu/sss/about/

WoMen’s Center
The WoMen’s Center’s mission provides education for the campus and surrounding community on the status of women and men in society today; fosters an environment to increase knowledge of gender-constructed norms; and focuses on the elimination of stereotypes, including racial, gender, sexual orientation, age and socioeconomic status. Intellectual / emotional development, growth and support of the student body at CSUF are implicit in all of the center’s goals.
http://www.fullerton.edu/womencenter/

Adult Re-entry and Parenting Student Programs
The Adult Reentry Center (ARC) at CSUF is dedicated to issues of the Adult Learner and the successful completion of his/her educational goals. The center’s mission provides support services to prospective students and current students 25 years of age or older who are returning to the college environment. The center serves as a resource to the CSUF community in providing an educational environment for adult learners’ success and retention.
http://www.fullerton.edu/adultreentry/

Veterans Services
Veterans Student Services (VSS) assists veterans at CSUF in successfully transitioning and navigating the academic environment through guidance, support services and resources. Transitioning from military life to university life presents challenges and stressors not experienced by the general university population. VSS is committed to providing personalized services to veterans from orientation to graduation.
http://www.fullerton.edu/veterans/

Cultural Welcome Events:
At the start of the school year, several culturally-based, community welcome events are held to give students an opportunity to become familiar with available resources. These include academic and curricular support services provided by faculty and staff, as well as co-curricular involvement opportunities through student organizations. Welcome events include: the Lavender Welcome, Asian Pacific Islander Welcome, African American Welcome, and Bienvenida. The events are coordinated by the university’s Cultural Centers, student organizations, and/or the Multicultural Leadership Centers. https://www.fullerton.edu/dirc/

Cultural Recognition Ceremonies:
Each year, the University hosts cultural recognition ceremonies. These events complement the University Commencement by adding a unique multicultural dimension that celebrates our diverse student population and honors our graduates and their families. Leadership for these ceremonies is provided by faculty and staff associations, student leaders, clubs and organizations, and cultural resource centers. http://news.fullerton.edu/2018sp/Cultural-Events.aspx

LGBTQ Queer Resource Center: The purpose of the LGBT Queer Resource Center is to increase awareness of LGBTQ issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer students and foster a campus climate that promotes the academic and personal success of LGBTQ persons. The support services from the resource center includes:
-Listening openly, non-judgmentally, and with empathy;
-Providing support and resources (including on and off-campus referrals);
-Stressing that homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation is harmful to the campus community;
-Making oneself available and visible to connect with our LGBTQ students. https://www.fullerton.edu/lgbtq/

Latinx Community Resource Center
The mission of the Latinx Community Resource Center (LCRC) is to create an inclusive environment for students to engage in history, culture, and equity issues in the Latinx community. We foster a sense of belonging while supporting the intellectual, personal, and social development of our students.
http://www.fullerton.edu/lcrc/

McNair Scholars Program
This program encourages students to pursue graduate studies by providing opportunities to define goals, engage in research, and develop the skills and student/faculty mentor relationships critical to success at the doctoral level. The McNair Scholars Program serves twenty-five students each year. All students participate in academic-year and summer activities until they graduate. Director: Patricia E. Literte, Ph.D. http://www.fullerton.edu/mcnair/

Talent Search
The Educational Talent Search program is federally funded and designed to identify and assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education. The Educational Talent Search program provides students with year-round services such as: academic advising, career counseling, financial aid awareness and postsecondary planning and selection. The program’s central goal is to ensure that participants graduate from high school and continue on to a post-secondary institution of their choice. CSUF’s Educational Talent Search Program participants are selected from four high schools in the Anaheim Unified High School District: Anaheim, Katella, Magnolia, Savanna, Loara and Western. https://www.fullerton.edu/talentsearch/

Guardian Scholars
CSUF's Guardian Scholars program is committed to supporting ambitious college-bound students exiting the foster care system. We provide a comprehensive program that contributes to the quality and depth of the student’s university experience. We serve as a resource for young adults by assisting them with the educational and interpersonal skills necessary to become self-supporting, community leaders, role models, and competent professionals in their selected fields. http://www.fullerton.edu/guardianscholars/

Faculty and Staff Associations
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The African American Faculty and Staff Association sponsors activities that support African American students such as Multicultural Mentor Project, Dialogues and literary discussions, Student scholarships, Pan African Student Recognition Ceremony, and Black History Month Celebration.

Composed of Asian and Pacific Islanders, and other interested faculty and staff, AAPIFSA members join together to acknowledge and celebrate the commonalities in the often-diverse Asian cultures. The AAPIFSA acts to help Asian-American students achieve educational excellence and to respond proactively to the needs of the Asian and Asian-related student body.

The Chicano/a Studies program co-sponsors an event for Hispanic parents to visit the CSUF campus. In this visit the application process is explained to the parents and potential students. The program maintains connections with the surrounding Hispanic community through internships and other community support activities.

Graduate Studies
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Enhancing Post-baccalaureate Opportunities at CSUF for Hispanic Students (EPOCHS)
With support from the U.S. Department of Education, the Enhancing Post-baccalaureate Opportunities at CSUF for Hispanic Students (EPOCHS) program, funded by the Federal Promoting Post-baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA), serves to increase the number of Latino students who enroll in and complete a post-baccalaureate degree at CSUF. We hope to achieve this goal by strengthening the environment for graduate studies at CSUF. With EPOCHS, CSUF provides:
-Annual New Graduate Student Welcome Day
-Graduate Student Orientation
-Student Support Specialist
-Graduate Student Guide
-Graduate Learning Specialists
-Student Academic Enrichment Opportunities
-Graduate Student Research Fund
-Quarterly bilingual graduate newsletter
-Networking and Community Engagement opportunities https://www.fullerton.edu/graduate/soar/epochs.php

Graduate Equity Program
Funded by the CSU, the Graduate Equity Program seeks to increase the diversity of students completing graduate degree programs, encourage further study in doctoral programs and promote consideration of university faculty careers. It provides fellowships to economically disadvantaged CSUF students who have overcome educational disadvantages or hardships. The fellowships are intended to minimize students' debt burden, allowing them to complete their program more quickly and commence doctoral study. More information can be found at:
http://www.fullerton.edu/graduate/funding/equity.php

Faculty-initiated projects which are College-based projects directly serving Under-Represented Groups and/or servicing K-12 schools/school districts with high student populations from under-represented groups:

College of Engineering & Computer Science

CASECS: Center for Academic Support in Engineering and Computer Science
The Center for Academic Support in Engineering and Computer Science (CASECS) is an academic support program designed to recruit, retain and graduate students. CASECS serves educationally disadvantaged students, to the extent possible by law and emphasizes participation by students from groups with low eligibility rates for four-year colleges. CASECS is a program of Student Academic Services in the Division of Students Affairs with joint collaboration of the College of Engineering & Computer Science and Student Affairs. This program has three objectives - Increase Enrollment & Retention; Increase Industry Tours; and Increase Scholarships.

Some of the features of the program include:
-Building a support community among students with similar career goals;
-Constructing the bridges necessary to establish a mentor-protégé relationship between faculty and students;
-Expecting excellent performance by students. Effectively communicating support for the students' success at the University and in the selected profession.
The program has ten specific service components designed to support students' successful pursuit of an academic program and their achievement of a timely graduation, as well as to assist them with their personal concerns. These components include assistance with admission and matriculation; orientation course; study center, tutoring, academic counseling, student organizations, scholarships and incentive grants, summer jobs and part-time work, professional development, and ECS support.

https://www.fullerton.edu/ecs/resources/casecs.php

Academic Catalyst for Excellence (ACE) Scholarship Program (NSF Grant)
The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) proudly announces the Academic Catalyst for Excellence (ACE) Scholarship program, a comprehensive educational support system designed to ensure student success. The grant seeks to improve educational opportunities for academically promising, but financially disadvantaged, engineering students. First-generation college students and those from underrepresented groups will be emphasized. The scholarship will serve as a catalyst that will allow students to focus diligently on their academics. The program will award scholarships to ECS students and leverage a well-established network of ECS and University student services to support cohorts of ACE scholars majoring in civil and environmental engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Scholars will be selected on the basis of their academic potential and financial need. Based on the class level, an ACE Scholar receives tuition scholarship for maximum of seven consecutive semesters (up to $2000 per semester) and a myriad of support services ranging from peer mentoring to academic internship. ECS ACE benefits include ACE scholarships for a maximum of seven consecutive semesters (ranges from $1000 to $2000 per semester); summer orientation program; peer mentoring/tutoring; cohort-based learning community; research participation with an ECS faculty; academic counseling, lunch speaker series, professional development workshops, academic internships and job fairs, and priority registration.

http://www.fullerton.edu/ecs/resources/ace/index.php

College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics
CSU-Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (CSU-LSAMP)
The goal of CSU-LSAMP is to increase the number of targeted students who graduate with degrees in the sciences, technology, engineering, or math (STEM). The targeted students are individuals who have faced or face social, educational, or economic barriers to careers in STEM. Several strategies are employed to meet this goal including academic year workshops in key “gatekeeper” courses, a CSU-LSAMP Community College Transfer Scholars Program which provides up to 3 new transfer students with $1000 during their first year at CSUF, assistance with admission to graduate schools (GRE workshops, application help, fee waivers, etc.) and funds to attend research conferences. Director: DR. Zair Ibragimov

http://lsamp.fullerton.edu/

Minority Access to Research Centers (MARC)
The MARC training program offers an extraordinary opportunity for minority students seeking careers in biomedical research. The goals of the program are to provide first-rate research training of undergraduate participants, to place undergraduates into respected graduate programs and ensure their success in those programs. To achieve these goals, the program will provide MARC Scholars with a solid curriculum, strong intramural and extramural research experience, personalized career and academic advisement and experience in presenting research data on the CSUF campus and at national professional meetings. Scholars will also gain exposure to a broad range of biomedical researchers through an enhanced seminar series in the Department of Biological Science. Director: Dr. Amybeth Cohen.

http://marc.fullerton.edu/

Minority Health International Research Training (MHIRT)
The summer research experience provides MHIRT scholars with the opportunity to travel to a foreign institution and spend 10 weeks conducting research in the laboratory of their foreign research advisor. The objectives of the program are:
-to increase the numbers of students belonging to health disparities populations or underrepresented minorities that pursue advanced degrees in basic sciences, biomedical or clinical research fields;
-to make these students aware of minority and international health problems and to seek novel approaches to address them;
-to inculcate in these students the importance and opportunities of international collaboration in research to address health disparities from a global health perspective.
Director: Dr. Marcelo Tolmasky.

http://biology.fullerton.edu/mtolmasky/MHIRT%20website/

CIRM Bridges to Stem Cell Research (BSCR) Program
The Department of Biological Science at CSUF was awarded $1.28 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to place ten undergraduate students as interns in stem cell research laboratories at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), UC-Irvine (UCI), UC-Riverside (UCR) and University of Southern California (USC). The Stem Cell Scholars must enroll in a special, 3-unit laboratory course during summer and must volunteer full-time in one of the four selected laboratories during the summer semester. Director: Dr. Nilay Patel.

http://biology.fullerton.edu/stemcells/

Research Careers Preparatory (RCP) Program
The RCP Program is a one-year program that provides students with the opportunity to explore research as a career through a specially designed pro-seminar course and associated field or laboratory activities. Participants in the program receive extensive academic and research mentoring support through two courses. These courses will prepare and train students to be successful in their major as future scientists (MS, PhD, DSc), future professionals (MD, MD-PhD, DO, OD, etc.), and more broadly as responsible citizens. Participants will carry out undergraduate research with a faculty member in the Departments of Biological Science, Chemistry/Biochemistry, Psychology, or other departments undertaking science-related research (Health Science, Computer Science, Mathematics). Upon successful completion of the one-year program, students may apply to any of the following research scholarships or fellowships: MARC, SCERP, MHIRT, HHMI, and BSCR. Director: Dr. Sean Walker

http://www.fullerton.edu/biology/RCP/

Project MISS
Every summer for the past 20 years girls from high schools and junior highs in Orange and Los Angeles counties, as well as the Inland Empire, have spent the month of July forsaking the beach and other summertime haunts for Cal State Fullerton classrooms, studying algebra I and II, geometry and pre-calculus as participants in Project Math Intensive Summer Session. For seven hours a day, Monday through Friday, Dr. David Pagni, Professor of Mathematics’ Project MISS participants are shown what to do by instructors, then turned loose to use their new-found knowledge to solve problems. They work cooperatively in groups, while instructors and tutors circulate among them, giving hints, answering questions and praising efforts. About 1,200 girls have attended the National Science Foundation-funded program, and Pagni’s involvement with these students continues after the summer sessions.

http://www.fullerton.edu/miss/

Teachers Assisting Students to Excel in Learning Mathematics (TASEL-M)
TASEL-M is an ongoing partnership between the Orange County Department of Education, Cal State Fullerton, UC, Irvine and math teachers at four high schools, seven middle schools and three continuation high schools. The project was developed in 2003 by Dr. David Pagni, Professor of Mathematics “to build professional learning communities and provide professional development with the goal of raising student achievement and closing the achievement gap of these schools to the state average as a minimum.” In 2007, a five year National Science Foundation grant of $6,483,054 was awarded to Dr. Pagni to continue this work. Teachers at participating schools work closely to create common agreement and common assessments in order to “offer an equitable curriculum to their students. They also create common lessons designed to increase student engagement and understanding of the concept(s) being taught,” Pagni says. Each June, participants are invited to a retreat in which teachers share their successes and lessons learned from the previous year, Pagni adds. “At the August Institute, teachers receive professional development on mathematics content, how students learn and pedagogy research. They develop an action plan for the upcoming school year that is based on data from the previous year, including new benchmarks or department, district and state assessments.

http://mathfaculty.fullerton.edu/sbehseta/members.html

CSUF offers a number of scholarships available to new and returning students. In addition to scholastic achievement, financial need and other factors may be considered in the selection process. Many of the special scholarships listed below were established to increase college participation of underrepresented and disadvantaged students. The full listing of scholarships and criteria can be found at:

http://www.fullerton.edu/financialaid/specialgroups/index.php

The Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program prepares students from underrepresented, first-generation, and low-income students for doctoral studies. McNair Scholars participate in a range of research and scholarly activities, including completion of a "McNair thesis" underneath a CSUF faculty mentor, conference attendance and presentations, graduate school tours, on-going academic advisement, and professional development.

The McNair Scholars Program is a federal TRIO program funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The Program was created to honor Dr. Ronald E. McNair, Challenger astronaut and physicist with a Ph.D. from M.I.T.

CSUF McNair Summer Institute
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The jewel of the CSUF McNair Scholars Program is its intensive Summer Institute. The Summer Institute seminars and workshops focus on three main components of success at the graduate level:

• Graduate school-oriented workshops that provide students with the tools they need to select and apply for top programs in their field

• Student-focused workshops that provide skills in time-management, and building relationships with professors

• Research-focused workshops that help students develop a graduate-level research project with a faculty mentor

Summer Workshops AND SEMINARS
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Our intensive summer workshops are typically held from mid-June until the end of July. Below is a list of the summer workshops that our 2018 cohort attended.

JUNE
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Why Graduate School?
The Graduate School Experience
Stress Management
The McNair Thesis
Library Skills
Communicating with Faculty and Mentorship
Research Ethics
Scholarly Research
Presenting at Conferences
Summer Research Programs

JULY
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Effective Reading, Part 1
Financial Literacy
Effective Reading, Part 2
Funding for Graduate School
Graduate Student Panel
Faculty Panel
Family and Loved Ones Workshop
Next Steps: Planning for a Successful Academic School Year

http://www.fullerton.edu/mcnair/

Diversity and Inclusion Committee
https://www.fullerton.edu/senate/members/diversity_inclusion/

LGBT Queer Resource Center
http://www.fullerton.edu/lgbtq/

Housing and Residential Engagement: Theme Communities
https://www.fullerton.edu/housing/future_residents/theme_communities.php

University Again Ranks No. 1 in California, No. 3 in U.S. for Degrees to Underrepresented Students
https://news.fullerton.edu/2021/11/university-ranks-no-1-in-california-no-3-in-u-s-for-degrees-to-underrepresented-students/