CSU Satellite Campuses Providing an In-depth Education
- January 24, 2013
By Stephanie Thara
As part of CSU’s mission to provide access to higher education, the CSU is continually developing programs and facilities that work to meet each student’s educational goals. In addition to the 23 CSU campuses spread throughout California, the CSU maintains nine additional satellite campuses that help students gain an in-depth and hands-on education.
Satellite campuses, or off-campus centers, are intended to serve non-traditional students—students who are not able to commute to a main CSU campus—and students looking to develop and excel in a certain skill or trade that will help them advance in their profession. Some examples include:
- Located in the heart of one of Bay Area’s major business districts, San Francisco State’s Downtown Campus offers students looking to pursue an advanced business degree a comprehensive educational experience. Currently, the campus is working to create a program that offers master’s of business administration students the opportunity to act as consultants to surrounding businesses. In collaboration with the business program at SFSU’s main campus, the Downtown Campus is working to increase the number of internships available for undergraduate and graduate students.
- At CSU East Bay’s , nursing and pre-nursing are core education programs. A $1.7 million grant from John Muir Health in 2007 helped create the bachelor’s degree in nursing program at the Concord Campus, enhancing the university’s ability to meet a critical need for well-trained nurses in Contra Costa County.
- In November 2011, the first cohort of nursing students entered a new Accelerated Second Degree Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ASBSN) program at CSU Stanislaus’ Stockton Center; they are slated to complete the program in May. The ASBSN option is designed for the student with a bachelor’s degree in a discipline other than nursing and is an accelerated full-time program that can be completed in 15 months.
- CSU San Bernardino’s Palm Desert Campus houses the Palm Springs Institute for Environment Sustainability (PSIES), which hosts numerous programs that allow CSUSB faculty and students help inform the community about issues pertaining to sustainability. Through PSIES, CSUSB environmental sustainability professor Robert Leo created a project where CSUSB students apply their knowledge learned in class to mentor and guide local high school students in developing solutions to help the City of Desert Hot Springs be more sustainable.
- CSU Bakersfield’s Antelope Valley Campus is piloting a collaborative teaching program to enhance teacher education. The Antelope Valley Campus has teamed up with local Palmdale schools to pair teaching candidates and veteran teachers to give elementary schoolers a two-teacher experience. Teaching candidates gain hands-on experience by developing curriculum, working one-on-one with students, and teaching the class.
- Cal State Fullerton’s Irvine Campus developed PRactical ADvantage Communications, a student-run agency for public relations and advertising students. The agency provides the opportunity for students to create and implement advertising and public relations campaigns for local profit and non-profit businesses and organizations, as well as for department programs and student organizations at CSUF.
Additional satellite campuses include San Francisco State’s Sierra Nevada Field Campus, and San Diego State’s Calexico and Brawley campuses—which are part of the Imperial Valley Campus.