Eligible SDCCD students to be granted automatic SDSU admission as part of new agreement
San Diego Group College District headquarters File photo by Chris Stone As part of an agreement released Thursday eligible students in the San Diego District College District will be granted automatic admission to San Diego State University and the SDCCD will construct a science building at SDSU s Mission Valley campus The leaders of the two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding to allow students from San Diego City Mesa and Miramar colleges who have transferable degrees to receive automatic admittance to SDSU starting in fall In addition SDCCD will develop a STEM-oriented academic building at the SDSU Mission Valley Innovation District This MOU reflects SDSU s and SDCCD s shared commitment to transforming higher mentoring in strategies that directly benefit our region s students workforce and economic activity disclosed SDSU President Adela de la Torre Together we will expand access to higher schooling and offer new pathways to transfers and degree completion for students pursuing careers that are in high demand in this region and across the country Students eligible for the transfer are those receiving an associate degree for transfer from an SDCCD campus in a specified field are California State University eligible and meet various minimum requirements However nursing and majors that require an audition such as dance music and theatre are excluded The agreement between a CSU institution and a large district college is being touted as the first of its kind to focus both on attaining degrees and guaranteeing transfer between the institutions as well as a shared facility for inquiry SDCCD s mission is to uplift San Diego s diverse communities through accessible and affordable higher training opportunities disclosed SDCCD Chancellor Gregory Smith This partnership will expand pathways to economic prosperity for San Diegans while supporting local industries and businesses and strengthening our regional financial sector We are excited to be part of SDSU s Mission Valley Innovation District facilitate collaboration between our faculty and provide our students with unprecedented advocacy to achieve their academic goals Through the partnership reported Thursday SDCCD students will also have greater access to courses not offered at the district colleges but required to meet SDSU major requirements This MOU is a major step forward for inhabitants higher training collaboration in San Diego commented William Tong SDSU provost and senior vice president It will allow us to build a physical and strategic bridge between the SDCCD s colleges and SDSU creating more opportunities for our neighborhood college students to transfer pursue advanced degrees gain hands-on research experience and internship opportunities and contribute meaningfully to our region s innovation commercial sector The proposed shared facility will include teaching and research labs classrooms faculty and administrative offices and pupil encouragement spaces a comment from the institutions read It would focus on careers requiring strong preparation in science mechanism engineering and math This partnership represents a student-centered vision for general higher mentoring mentioned Susan Topham vice chancellor at SDCCD It reflects our shared commitment to creating more seamless well-supported transfer pathways especially in high-demand fields like STEM By bringing our institutions together in a shared space at SDSU Mission Valley we are not just expanding access we are building the kind of innovative society learning circumstances our students and communities deserve
