California’s next university has a plan and programs – all it needs is a campus

This story was originally published by CalMatters Sign up for their newsletters By students in south San Diego County will be able to earn eight different bachelor s degrees from three residents universities while enrolled in the new Chula Vista University That s before it even has a campus The university which opens for class next year promises a novel approach to higher coaching as a hybrid institution with programs from San Diego State Cal State San Marcos UC San Diego and Southwestern College It s part of a long-awaited plan to bring a four-year campus to the city of Chula Vista City executives have pursued that goal for decades seeking state sponsorship and buying land for an eventual campus Assemblymember David Alvarez a Democrat from the group made it his top priority when he was elected in South County has long been considered a college desert Alvarez reported at a town hall meeting on the project Saturday This is one of the greater part diverse fastest growing parts of the state yet it has been underserved in regards to higher instruction Chula Vista introduced its vision for the campus as part of its city plan in Alvarez stated In California learning leaders and local representatives proposed building a combined university and research park so students could live learn and ultimately work in their own group By the city acquired acres of land for the new campus But in the state Legislative Analyst s Office concluded that there wasn t enough enrollment demand to justify building a single UC or Cal State campus Reports were that it wasn t the right time Alvarez declared in a video about the project That California didn t need another residents university While the state might not need one proponents insisted that South County San Diego did So they agreed on a multi-institutional campus to train students for key jobs This would be more focused than a traditional liberal arts university with degrees targeted at regional workforce necessities in fields such as nursing residents medical business and training Alvarez got to work on the project as soon as he was sworn in He secured million for the city s Millennial Library which will open next fall and host one of the first degree programs And he introduced a law to reserve the accumulated land for the university project and another to form a task force to guide growth of the campus Gov Gavin Newsom signed that law this month authorizing the South County Higher Guidance Task Force to research governance models for the higher learning facility including how the different university systems interact how they will share authority and guidance and how to pay for the new campus It will include representatives from the Cal State and UC systems Southwestern College the legislature city and local high school district Its statement on the project is due by July The initial phase of the campus will cost an estimated billion according to an architectural statement and would consist of a walkable campus gathered around a central open space Conceptual drawings show light-filled buildings with wall-to-wall windows and walkways meandering around landscaped commons and decorative ponds The task force will consider those plans and decide when to start construction and how to fund it Although the full campus hasn t even broken ground Chula Vista University is slated to start degree programs next year While the end goal is the university campus it also became clear to me that we need and deserve university instruction now Alvarez announced In fall it will offer a bachelor s degree in nursing at classrooms in the Millennial Library which is now slated to open at the same time It will also introduce degrees in industrial psychology from San Diego State business administration computer information systems and cybersecurity from Cal State San Marcos and society strength from UC San Diego In fall Cal State San Marcos will add degrees in bilingual speech pathology and human enhancement All those programs would be located at Southwestern College Proponents are also exploring the likely for accelerated degrees in hospitality kinesiology and population administration from San Diego State Alvarez disclosed They re discussing cross-border programs with Mexican universities And they may collaborate on film and TV pathway programs with the upcoming Chula Vista Entertainment Complex a production studio set to open in the Millennial Library These joint ventures across institutions and locations aren t typical but Alvarez points to nearby Cal State San Marcos now one of the fastest-growing CSU schools It launched its first programs as a satellite branch of San Diego State in a middle school in before expanding to a nearby strip mall and then building its campus on a former chicken ranch a decade later The research demonstrated to me that a world-class university often starts with humble beginnings Alvarez revealed As part of their planning Alvarez and other proponents visited Auroria Campus in Denver Colorado It s a hybrid facility that hosts Society College of Denver Metropolitan State University of Denver and University of Colorado Denver However Alvarez declared Chula Vista University will be unique for California We are building something new so we have to figure out how to do that he noted They ll also work to identify funding sources for both the construction of the physical campus and for the long-term operation of the university campus Those are big commitments that we need to make CalMatters is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe explain and explore solutions to quality of life issues while holding our leaders accountable