Cal Poly Pomona Looks Beyond Graduation Initiative 2025
In 2015, the California State University launched Graduation Initiative 2025, its ambitious plan to increase graduation rates, eliminate equity gaps in degree completion, and meet California’s workforce needs by 2025. Over the last decade, CSU campuses – including Cal Poly Pomona – have reimagined what student success means and helped many more students cross the finish line to graduation.
The initiative may have ended this year, but the work has not. The CSU has unveiled a new Student Success Framework that expands the definition of student success beyond retention and graduation rate metrics to include student satisfaction, career earnings, socioeconomic mobility and alumni engagement.
To help CPP fully engage with the framework, a team of faculty, staff and administrators have convened a campus Student Success Strategic Planning Group to collect information, assess current efforts, and make recommendations. The group includes:
- Cecilia Santiago-González, Associate Vice President of Student Success
- Jeanette Baez, Assistant Vice President of Institutional Research, Planning, and Analytics
- Marisela Chávez, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Faculty Excellence (CAFE)
- Jocelyn Chong, Interim Director of Academic Effectiveness and Strategic Planning
- Erin DeRosa, Executive Director of University Advising
- Kimberly Edwards, Assistant Dean of the College of Science
- Natalie Gonzalez, Associate Director of Student Support & Equity Programs
- Jonathan Grady, Senior Associate Vice President for Retention & Belonging
- Jenny Guerra, Senior Coordinator of University Advising
- Pia Gupta, Associate Dean of the College of Business Administration
- Hyungchul Han, Associate Dean of the Huntley College of Agriculture
- Dora Lee, Assistant Vice President of Academic Engagement & Success
- Janel Ortiz, Director of Science Educational Enhancement Services (SEES) and Associate Professor in the Center for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching
- Brandon Tuck, Presidential Associate for Community Partnerships, Engagement and Outreach
- Jessica Wagoner, Senior Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management & Services
The planning group’s work is being funded and facilitated by a partnership with Growing Inland Achievement (GIA), a regional K-16 collaborative working to achieve educational and economic equity in the Inland Empire. GIA is one of six intermediary organizations in the nation selected by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to lead postsecondary transformation efforts at more than 250 U.S. colleges and universities through 2026.
“GI 2025 was a milestone, not a finish line,” Santiago-González said. “Our partnership with Growing Inland Achievement, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, brings our campus together to reflect, reimagine, and align with the new framework. We are defining the next chapter of student success; one that continues to be rooted in belonging, purpose, and lifelong impact, and in our responsibility to ensure every student can thrive, earn a degree, and contribute meaningfully to their communities.”
The group will host a campus-wide Student Success Convening on Friday, November 14 to kickstart their work. All CPP community members are invited to participate in the convening, as the event’s activities and conversations will inform recommendations and prioritize strategies. More information is available on the Office of Student Success website.