CSUB establishes Student Access and Support Department

Office focused on admitting more students from underrepresented groups on campus

By California State University, Bakersfield

January 6^th, 2023

California State University, Bakersfield has established a new department focused on increasing the admission and enrollment of students from underrepresented populations on campus.

The Student Access and Support (SAS) Department — part of the Division of Enrollment Management — is being led by its new director, Darius Riggins, who was previously the director of university outreach.

The three-member office aims to reach out to and recruit students among African American, Asian, Native American, LGBTQ and other groups that are underrepresented at CSUB.

“The name of the department really speaks to what we are trying to do,” said Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Dr. Dwayne Cantrell. “We want to make sure we’re paying attention to all student groups and that we’re doing the best we can to provide access and support for them.”

Chief Diversity Officer and Special Assistant to the President Claudia Catota said she’s excited about the new department.

“I am grateful for Dr. Cantrell and his dedication to access to CSUB. This new department is an example of adapting to the needs of our students to support their success,” she said. “I also want to thank Darius for his willingness to step into this important role and look forward to our continuing collaboration.”

Riggins said the position is similar to what he has been doing at CSUB in that it involves outreach and recruitment. However, it will allow him to focus more on specific student groups compared to his previous general outreach work.

“I’m glad to have been thought of to be the first person to lead this new department,” he said. Hopefully with the work that we do, it will be an office that the university finds valuable and will want it to continue long after I leave.”

The idea for the SAS Department came out of looking at the past few years of enrollment data at CSUB, according to Dr. Cantrell. He said data has shown that even though overall admissions and enrollment has gone up, that is not the case among students from underrepresented groups.

“It was a data-driven decision to do this,” Dr. Cantrell noted. “This is such important work at an important time.”

Riggins said the new department is unique for CSUB, as while there are groups and organizations on campus aimed at helping students from underrepresented populations, they largely work with students once they arrive on campus and have no direct involvement in recruitment.

Now, those support services will be able to work hand-in-hand with the SAS Department.

“That just increases the overall recruitment effort from the university to be able to deal with bringing in students that are of low representation and do a handoff to the other offices on campus that are designed to give them resources and support while they are on campus,” he said. “I’m excited about working with those offices and growing those ties.”

Dr. Cantrell said it’s important for these students to feel connected to the campus once they have been admitted and enrolled, as they will be more likely to persist to graduation.

“You want students who may not initially feel as connected and are experiencing those insecurities on campus to feel welcome and supported,” he said. “We want to make sure they’re not missing any steps and that we’re minimizing any barriers that may exist.”

While the SAS Department has only just been formed, it is already working on its first project: pulling student accountability report cards from each of the schools in the Kern High School District to get a better idea of each school’s demographics.

“We want to see which high schools in our local area have the highest number of students who would be considered underrepresented at CSUB,” Riggins said. “We’re trying to locate where those students are and send them a message that we’re going to help you come to CSUB and these are the steps you need to take.”

Riggins said the department will be hiring student assistants starting in the spring semester to assist with its recruitment efforts at the high schools.

While Riggins said college recruitment often focus primarily on high school students, it is also important to start reaching out to students while they’re still in middle school.

“If a student is going to qualify to be admitted into a university, they have to start taking the right classes starting in the ninth grade. That means they need advisement when they’re still in middle school,” he said. “If you don’t start talking to a student until they’re in 10th or 11th grade, they may not have enough time to take all the classes necessary to be admitted into a university simply because they didn’t start off with the right classes when they entered high school.”

While CSUB’s general outreach efforts will continue, Riggins believes it’s important to provide extra attention to and support for students who may need a little more convincing to come to a four-year university.

“My perspective with regards to recruitment is I’ll help anybody because I really believe that education changes lives. It doesn’t matter to me where you come from or who you are — let’s get you into college,” he said. “I’m going to make sure students know what they need to be admitted and show them the value and opportunity here. I want to make sure CSUB stays on their mind.”

Despite the establishment of the Student Access and Support Department, Riggins doesn’t expect the university will see a noticeable increase in the number of students admitted and enrolled from underrepresented populations until fall 2024 at the earliest, as the recruitment period for fall 2023 has already been completed.