EMSS Team Members:

Happy Friday, EMSS team –  I hope everyone had a good week and is looking forward to a relaxing weekend heading your way. With Spring Break arriving, the pace on campus should slow down slightly, maybe giving us all a chance to catch a quick breath before the race to the end of the semester.

Feedback for WASC Accreditation Process

Cal Poly Humboldt’s Accreditation Steering Committee has prepared four essay DRAFTS for the university’s WSCUC 2025 accreditation institutional report, and the committee is requesting collegial feedback from the entire campus community. These are first drafts; thus, every piece of feedback will offer a valuable opportunity to revise and improve the story our campus is telling. Feedback forms will remain open until April 11, 2025, and we will share what we heard at the University Senate before the end of the spring semester

The four essays correspond to WSCUC’s four accreditation standards:

1. Defining Institutional Mission and Acting with Integrity
2. Achieving Educational Objectives and Student Success
3. Assuring Resources and Organizational Structures
4. Creating an Organization Committed to Quality Assurance and Improvement

Through these essays, we endeavor to tell the story of Cal Poly Humboldt —where we are succeeding, where we are challenged, and where we want to go. After reading the final version of this report next fall and visiting campus the following spring, an evaluation team will conclude the process by making recommendations to WSCUC leadership, including how long to extend our accreditation and whether or not to schedule any interim visits or required reporting. 

Don’t miss this opportunity to share your feedback - at the Submit Comments page on the university’s accreditation website, you will find links to the DRAFT essays, each including a link to submit feedback.

Grad Fair

A Grad Fair hosted by The Campus Store will be held March 26 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the on-campus location. This will be a one stop shop for all Commencement and graduation needs. The Commencement Coordinator as well as campus departments such as the Office of the Registrar, Forever Humboldt Association, Graduate Studies, and more will be present. GradImages, our graduation photography vendor, will also be present to take cap and gown portraits.

URPC Divisional Budget Reports

Did you miss the live divisional budget presentations last month? The presentations about priorities and plans for coming budget reductions, as well as likely implications, are now available on the University Resources & Planning Committee (URPC) website at humboldt.edu/budget/urpc.

Scroll through to find a link per division of the presentations: Academic Affairs, Enrollment Management & Student Success,  Athletics, Administrative Affairs, President’s Office, Advancement, and University Wide or look for the link to the recording of each meeting (multiple presentations in each recording, one on 2/21 and one on 2/28).

Work on budget planning is ongoing and will culminate in a URPC recommendation to Senate later this semester.

Dining Deals and News

New Promo: Get a sandwich, chips and drink combo for $11.99 at Humboldt Street Subs located at College Creek Marketplace and The Depot.

Check out the pre-made wraps/sandwiches at the College Creek Marketplace: Buffalo & Caesar Chicken wraps, Reubens, and Tuna Melts.  Also try out the new Orange Cream Coke (also in zero sugar) and Juneberry RedBull. New RedBull coolers coming to the Library as well.

Bigfoot Burgers has a great burger of the week rotation, which has featured a Western Style Bacon & Onion Ring Burger amongst others.

I’ve Been Admitted to College (IBAC) Programming

Today, we have IBAC #6 for Jack Norton (4) and Winship (110) schools. This is our last IBAC of the Spring – thank you to all who have helped us open campus and make the idea of college more tangible for local middle school students.

Events

Spring Preview Plus – On Thursday, March 27, we will welcome Spring Preview PLUS students from across California to campus. They will participate in special visit programming, leading up to Preview that weekend. In addition to our Admissions staff who provide support for the event, this year we also have alums who are acting as chaperones and engaging with the prospective students during their experience. The March Preview PLUS event focuses on admitted first-time undergraduate students, while our April event will focus on transfers.

Class schedules – The Summer 2025 and Fall 2025 class schedules will be live Friday, March 28. Encourage prospective and current students to start making plans now for the next semester.

Spring Preview – The first of two Spring Preview events takes place Saturday, March 29, and we will welcome a large number of admitted students and their families to campus for our signature admissions experience. We know Spring Preview is one of the most impactful events we host, as last year, more than 60% of attendees enrolled for fall – so, please, do whatever you can to support the event and positive experiences for our admitted students.

Accolades

A special shout out to the teams in our Admissions & Registrar offices who spent two days on 2/20 and 2/21 with a laser focus on admissions and evaluation support for applications that required additional support and review. Our teams completed an all-time record of reviewing over 1,100 applications in that short window of time! This includes the recruiters, transfer and grad counselors and more all teamed up towards one common goal - and we crushed it.

A special shout out to Sulaina Banks and Sarah Mundi on the Admissions team for being selected to present at this year's national Collegiate Information and Visitor Services Association (CIVSA) conference, in May. Sulaina’s presentation will focus on creating successful visit programs for rural universities, while Sarah’s session focuses on the use of games to engage 8th-12th grade visitors to college campuses. We are proud of their hard work and efforts in optimizing our visit programs and are excited they have this opportunity to share their expertise with a national audience.

Thank you all for everything you are doing across campus, our community, and the state. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Take care of yourselves and each other,

Chrissy Holliday

Vice President, EMSS

Cal Poly Humboldt