New Stanislaus State president reveals three major goals for new year. Here’s what they are
New Stanislaus State University President Britt Rios-Ellis declared three major goals in her inaugural Fall Welcome Address this week: increased enrollment and retention, better equity and diversity, and improved community engagement.
She made the address at the Turlock university on Monday, two days before the start of the fall semester. “As we face ongoing enrollment challenges, we must remain observant,” Rios-Ellis said. “In fall 2023, we saw a decrease in both first-year and transfer applicants. We responded nimbly by accepting more students, achieving the second-highest acceptance and the fourth-highest yield in the CSU. Our transfer acceptance rate and enrollment yield increased as well.”
Only 5,500 first-year students applied to the university for fall 2023. That was a 13.6% decrease from the previous year and the second lowest in all universities in the California State University system. Around 95% were admitted into the university and 20% of those students enrolled. According to admissions data, in 2022, the university had an undergraduate acceptance rate of 91%, which was lower than the 2021 rate of 93%.
As for transfers, around 3,400 students applied — an 11.6% decrease from the previous year and second lowest in CSU. Around 91% were admitted and 41% enrolled.
Most transfers last year came from Modesto Junior College. Around 1700 students from the community college transferred in fall 2023.
Fall 2024 acceptance and enrollment numbers aren’t out yet.
Rios-Ellis said she will continue to build relationships with MJC and area high schools to continue to appeal to graduates.
She said she wants to work with the community college to ensure the entire community has access to affordable education. “So I’ve already met with Brian Sanders multiple times, their president,” Rios-Ellis said. “We’re looking at how we can align services. We’re looking at how we can co-locate programs because they have some resources we don’t have and we have some resources they don’t have.”
Knowing most students come from a first-generation college students and are more likely to work in their households, Rios-Ellis said she wants to help mitigate basic need challenges students face.
“For these reasons, we will be working more with the families of our students, in both English y en español, to ensure that they not only understand what is needed to support a college student but also how to help their children navigate expectations,” she said.
The new president said the university has contributed $770.5 million annually to the local economy in the Central Valley.
The California State University Board of Trustees appointed Rios-Ellis to the presidency of Stanislaus State in June. She is the 13th president of the university after replacing interim President Susan Borrego.
Prior to this position, she worked as provost and executive vice president of academic affairs at Oakland University, a public research university in Rochester, Michigan. She also served as the founding dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services at California State University, Monterey Bay, from 2014-2020.
“When we thrive, the Central Valley thrives,” she said.
This story was originally published August 21, 2024 at 12:17 PM.
