Welcome from the director

Two words have driven the Compact for Success model: Access and Success. We believe these standards are the ones that will serve the program well in the future.

Welcome to the Compact for Success website. If you are a frequent user of our website, you will note a significant improvement in the layout and the scope of information you are now able to access here. I hope you will find our new website more intuitive and useful. As we continue to improve our Compact for Success efforts, we have received many requests for information, and we hope you will find the information you need here.

The 2011-2012 academic year will continue to be a challenge for public educational agencies. With diminishing resources, schools continue to scale back on programs and services, as well as access to higher education opportunities. Higher education institutions in California, more than in other states, continue to raise fees and restrict enrollment. In spite of these challenging times, Compact for Success continues to offer SUHSD graduates a guaranteed admission to SDSU when they meet established benchmarks. For fall 2011, we anticipate receiving the largest class of Compact Scholars since we began receiving students from SUHSD in the fall of 2006.

Ongoing improvement efforts continue to focus on making Compact for Success better and expanding our reach.  For example, the Kids2College Program has transposed the student handbook to a DVD mode which will allow students access to the information on a computer, eliminating the need to mass produce print copies, and thus saving time and resources.

Another new dimension of Compact for Success is the SDSU Peer Mentoring Program recently instituted at Southwestern College (SWC). The goal of this program is to work with SWC students who intend to transfer to SDSU. Through workshops and individual meetings with these students, we provide them the information and networking skills they will need to be successful once they transfer to our campus. The Kresge Foundation has awarded Compact for Success with a grant to enhance our work at SWC and to expand efforts to include San Diego City College. Preliminary survey results indicate that the program is meeting the needs of these students. The SDSU Peer Mentoring Program is a unique collaboration between Compact for Success, SDSU Educational Opportunity Program, SDSU Community Based Block Program and our partner community colleges' EOPS programs at SWC and City College.

I encourage you to check our website often to view our latest information. We know this information will be useful to those seeking helpful tips on how to begin their own Compact for Success efforts.

Louis C. Murillo, Ph.D.
Director Compact for Success
Office of Collaborative Programs
San Diego State University