Build a Growth Strategy

1a. Diversify and expand portfolio of non-stateside curricular offerings to address the needs of non-traditional learners and the workforce of the future (stackable credentials, certificates, etc.).

1b. Expand credit-for-experience protocols in high-demand disciplines.

• College of Professional & International Education
• Existing corporate and community partner programs within Colleges.
• The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• New Industry and community partners
• Course shells for independent study that could be tailored for experiential learning credit

Expanding CPIE to address needs not met by traditional state-side offerings can create additional revenue streams and synergies with the regional workforce. Co-creation of programming with regional partners is likely to strengthen partnerships across the institution and elevate CSULB’s mission for the public good. It is likely that innovations generated in this area can also be adopted for state-side learners (i.e., the development of certificates for working learners could also be offered through state-side structures to 4-year degree seeking students).

Workforce development, professional certificates, and co-created programming require specialized expertise that may not be prevalent among current faculty and administrative structures. This will require capacity development, investment, and parallel structures to accomplish this level of expertise. Growth in this area without state-support will mean that degree programs either have very small return margins or are priced higher than current tuition, which could limit access to some students. Online delivery expertise is also likely to be a key factor in success in this area, given both an increasingly competitive market and the need for time and location flexibility among non-traditional learners.

Economic downturn and a competitive, evolving labor market have increased demand for new skills and qualifications among 4-year degree holders and those seeking to re-enter the workforce in new industries, sectors, or careers. Curricular offerings that are tailored to regional labor needs will help catalyze economic growth in the region and ensure that CSULB continues to meet the needs of a rapidly changing workforce.

• Academic Technology Services
• Information Technology Services
• Academic Senate

Expanding virtual capacity advances CSULB’s ability to reach new (non-local) markets and to grow without constraints of physical capacity, benefitting both state-side and non-state-side learners. Models for success can already be found in the conversion to remote instruction in Spring 2020.

Developing alternative delivery infrastructure requires investment in technology and expertise, including instructional designers, faculty training experts, and specialized technology to address virtual labs, adaptive learning, and other online support systems. Growth in virtual student service will also be needed, such as advising, tutoring, financial aid, registration, and extra- curricular engagement.

CSULB has demonstrated ability to scale up alternative delivery infrastructure to address the immediate needs of Spring and Fall 2020. As we continue to expand infrastructure to serve more students, specific developments may be designed around the needs of an evolving education market (e.g., competition, demand, students’ desire for virtual vs. physical offerings, tuition parity, etc.).

3a. Develop a working group or other steering structure to evaluate, prototype, and execute a robust set of stateside and non-stateside programs off-campus.

• College of Professional & International Education
• Satellite campus(es)
• Community Colleges
• Downtown campus
• High school spaces
• Public spaces (city buildings leased to campus)
• Industry and community advisors
• Corporate embedded programs

Off-campus growth reduces campus congestion, further embeds our institution with the community, and creates opportunities for specialized programs (e.g., 2 + 2 programs targeting community college students who can’t access impacted programs on campus; corporate-embedded offerings for workplace instruction and internships).

Existing infrastructure can be extended to other locations (e.g., we are not starting from scratch to create new locations), existing corporate-embedded and off-campus locations within CPIE, CHHS and COE can serve as models, and current industry and community partners can advise on development.

If there is a growth in student demand as a result of an economic downturn, off-campus physical locations would also enable CSULB to meet this demand while reducing impaction on current campus locations.