CSU CREATE Awards Support Faculty in Advancing Student Success

In a continued effort to accomplish the CSU Graduation Initiative 2025 goals, the CSU Chancellor’s Office issued a call for proposals in March 2022 for the Creating Responsive, Equitable, Active Teaching and Engagement (CREATE) Awards program. The inaugural program aims to reinvigorate faculty commitment to the system’s student success efforts by increasing their sense of responsibility to each student’s progress toward graduation. By recognizing the vitally important role faculty play in providing high-quality instruction and highlighting those transforming the student experience, the CREATE Awards program offers an opportunity for CSU faculty to make a sustainable change in student success for years to come.

In June 2022, the CREATE Awards Program Selection Committee chose five proposals to receive funding for the upcoming 2022-23 academic year. Funded by the College Futures Foundation, the five winning proposals will receive awards ranging from $48,000 to $222,000. Selected based on the creativity and innovation of their proposals, these programs showcase teaching practices and research-backed interventions capable of increasing the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded, while also reducing equity gaps.

CSU Director of Research & Student Success Initiatives, Chenoa Woods, Ph.D., touches on the benefits of the program, not only for students, but also faculty. “The CREATE Awards Program allows faculty to think differently about student success and have a large-scale impact while drawing from their areas of expertise. It highlights the importance of using research-based practices in innovative ways to close equity gaps and impact student success.” 

Although each proposal illustrates a different approach, they collectively promise the improvement of overall student success and a reduction of equity gaps across the CSU system.

THE WINNING PROPOSALS

Decreasing Equity Gaps in Degree Completion by Empowering CSU Students, Faculty, and Staff through Action Projects informed by Intergroup Dialogue​

The two-semester online program will include training in intergroup dialogue (IGD) at the 10 Southern California CSU campuses. Participants trained in IGD will affect many other constituents at their campuses by carrying out action projects to tackle Graduation Initiative 2025.

Dr. Manpreet Dhillon Brar | Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
Department of Child Development
Cal State San Bernardino

Dr. Stacy Morris | Co-Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
Department of Child Development
Cal State San Bernardino

Dr. Jessica Morales-Chicas | Co-Principal Investigator
Associate Professor
Child and Family Studies Department
Cal State LA​

 

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Developing Culturally Relevant Activities to Support Undergraduate Persistence: A Pilot Study with Supplemental Instruction & Grad-to-Undergraduate Peer Mentoring

This project aims to improve persistence rates and reduce equity gaps among underrepresented students enrolled in Cal Poly Pomona’s Apparel and Merchandising Management program (AMM). It will address innovation in teaching and learning and build on existing departmental and university efforts from the Fearless Classroom initiative through the development of pilot Culturally Relevant Supplemental Instruction (CRSI) activities, and graduate-to-undergraduate peer mentoring. The program will be available for all AMM faculty to participate in and can reach all students enrolled during the program implementation in Spring 2023.

Dr. Helen Trejo| Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
Apparel Merchandising and Management
Cal Poly Pomona

Dr. JC Cañedo | Co-Principal Investigator
Lecturer
Apparel Merchandising and Management
Cal Poly Pomona

Dr. Claire Whang | Co-Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
Apparel Merchandising and Management
Cal Poly Pomona​

 

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Agents of Change: Faculty-Learning Assistant Partnerships Supporting Active, Engaging, Equitable Learning Environments

This project builds on the faculty learning assistants (LAs) model by adding support, such as participating in a faculty retreat or academy where inclusive, equitable, engaging and active learning strategies will be discussed. The project will immediately impact undergraduate students, learning assistants and faculty in physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology, math and computer science across three CSU campuses: San José, San Francisco, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, as well as help chart productive, equitable pathways forward in implementing sustainable LA models at other CSU campuses.

Dr. Cassandra Paul | Principal Investigator
Associate Professor, Physics & Astronomy | Science Education
San José State University

Dr. Resa Kelly | Co-Principal Investigator
Professor, Chemistry & Science Education
Director, Science Education Program
San José State University

Dr. Kim Coble | Co-Principal Investigator
Professor
Department of Physics and Astronomy
San Francisco State University

Dr. Gina Quan | Co-Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics and Astronomy
San José State University

Dr. Jennifer Avena | Co-Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor Department of Biological Sciences
Science Education Program
San José State University

Dr. Laura Ríos | Co-Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor
Department of Physics
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo​

 

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Developing Instructional Cultures that Support Student Motivation in Math

This project will deliver and evaluate the impacts of a professional learning course, called the Motivating Learners Course (MLC), to mathematics instructors at two CSU campuses: San Diego State and Cal Poly Pomona. By applying research and equipping instructors with the knowledge and tools for how to frame messages and adapt learning materials that support students’ motivation and learning mindsets, this program will make progress toward the GI2025 goals of improving students’ outcomes and closing equity gaps within foundational math courses.

Dr. Dustin Thoman | Principal Investigator

Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and the Center of Research in Mathematics and Science Education
San Diego State University 

Dr. Paul Beardsley | Co-Principal Investigator
Professor, Department of Biological Sciences Director of the Center for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching
Cal Poly Pomona 

Dr. Allison Vaughn | Co-Principal Investigator
Professor
Department of Psychology Associate Director, Center for Teaching and Learning
San Diego State University

 

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 The AHRC/MM Project: Supporting Black Students Through Research and Mentoring​

This project aims to improve the retention and advancement of Black students at CSU Monterey Bay by addressing student re-engagement and promoting equitable learning environments, which are key GI2025 priorities. By bringing together the African Heritage Research Collaborative (AHRC) and the Mandla Mentoring (MM) program, students will engage in collaborative faculty-led research projects that examine inequities and differential experiences of Black students, while also providing a supportive network of engaged faculty and staff to promote student retention, well-being and academic success.

Dr. Vanessa Lopez-Littleton | Principal Investigator
Associate Professor of Public Administration and Nonprofit Management and Chair of the Department of Health, Human Services, and Public Policy Chief Assistant to the Dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services
CSU Monterey Bay

Dr. Dennis Kombe | Co-Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education and the Secondary Education Program Coordinator, Department of Education and Leadership
CSU Monterey Bay

 

To learn more, please visit the CREATE Awards website.