Strengthening Nonresident Enrollment
Efforts to enhance CSULB’s capacity for engaging all students goes hand-in-hand with our desire to attract learners from outside California and the U.S. to enrich our campus with diverse perspectives.
A Growth Strategy team has developed a robust enrollment plan to expand this pool of international and out-of-state students among our campus population. With a goal of increasing nonresident enrollment to 10% of the campus’ student admissions in the next several years, this plan lays out strategic recruitment opportunities and identifies target markets on which these efforts should focus.
Preparing students to become informed citizens and professional leaders in the workplaces of today and tomorrow is the desired result of our efforts to engage all students from the moment they set foot on campus. By welcoming learners from all backgrounds — including geographical locations, cultures, and abilities — students at CSULB have an opportunity to engage with their global peers. Positioning the campus as a space where diversity of thought, expression, perspective, and ability is not only cherished, but fostered, is foundational to our character as an institution.
These enrollment strategies represent a meaningful investment not only in achieving the mission and values of our university, but also our efforts to fortify CSULB’s viability for future generations. With more than 100 countries represented on campus, this diverse international student body means our growth is not as vulnerable to geopolitical factors that might suddenly result in fewer students from one or more represented countries.
Recruitment strategies leverage data-driven processes — some which CSULB or other schools in the CSU already practice — specific to growing international, out-of-state, or graduate student enrollment. Other practical considerations for admitting these students are noted, too, like the need to update technology used to gather and evaluate admissions documents from international students, track transfer agreements with out-of-state community colleges, develop new agreements with select international institutions, and reconcile prior coursework with the requirements for admission at CSULB.
These enrollment goals set the stage for future work by the action zone team, which will focus on expanding CSULB’s capacity for non-stateside curricular offerings. With increasing demand for alternative instruction modes and delivery, attracting qualified students to The Beach will require bold investments in these curricular offerings and recruitment strategies to showcase all that CSULB has to offer.
