Associated Students Inc. is reporting a $219,000 loss, the greatest of the California State University student governments, from not being able to charge a summer session fee.
“The summer fee plus enrollment fee has a reduction of 14 percent revenue loss for 2010 to 2011,” said ASI President Chris Chavez. “One of the largest [potential] losses we’ve seen in ages.”
A five-year $2.5 million grant was recently awarded to the Cal State Long Beach as a Hispanic Serving Institution, ASI announced at its meeting Wednesday.
The HSI funds are allocated by the U.S. Department of Education to help universities and colleges with a full-time student population of at least 25 percent Hispanic students. In 2005, CSULB was eligible to become an HSI in 2005 with a 25.1 percent Latino student enrollment.
Five years later, according to Gloria Inzunza-Franco, HSI project director, the school is at 28.4 percent. If the university can maintain that, it can still provide services to Hispanic students, including resources to increase retention and graduation. This would also help to enhance the diversity of the university.
Under the current program, the funds are distributed to improve grade point averages of Hispanic students falling under 2.9. CSULB will also use the funds to raise the graduation rate, student support services, and faculty and academic program development.
“In addition, the HSI grant is not only for the HSI project,” Inzunza-Franco said. “As a result of our designation, the campus has received $10 million since the designation was granted.”
She said that, for example, the College of Health and Human Services received a $4.5 million grant to work with minorities in research last year.
“Having the HSI designation is really important, especially now with so many budget cutbacks,” Inzunza-Franco said.
Chavez also mentioned that the policy of timely graduation had passed with 20 minutes of debate.
Webmail client replacements Google and Microsoft are still being considered. Chavez said Google is more focused on social networking, while Microsoft is focused on productivity.
“Both our options are superior to what we have now,” Chavez said. “What we have now was great — in 1998.”
Also, Jeffrey Parrish was inducted as a new senator of the College of Business Administration, taking the place of Ruben Cordova.
