Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed legislation to speed up insurance premium rate reviews as he and the Insurance Department try to fix the state’s battered insurance market.

Last fall, Newsom issued an executive order tasking Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara with fixing home and fire insurance availability and affordability as insurers — citing rising wildfire risk and pandemic-induced inflation, and complaining about having to wait too long to get their requests for rate increases approved by the state — were canceling homeowner policies and halting the writing of new ones in California.

Homeowners continue to have trouble obtaining or hanging onto affordable insurance. From September through March, more than 45,000 of them have had to turn to the FAIR Plan, which is supposed to be an insurer of last resort for fire insurance. The plan provides limited coverage at high prices, so some homeowners have chosen to forgo fire insurance because they can’t afford their premiums, which in some cases have tripled or more.

Lara has been rolling out a plan to address the insurance market problems, which is expected to take effect by the end of the year. But Newsom said at a press conference earlier this month that “We’ve got to move it. We’ve just got to do more.”

Hence the bill he released Tuesday night, which is tied to the state budget and may not get as much scrutiny as other bills this late in the legislative session, needs only a simple majority vote in the state Legislature and would take effect immediately after the governor signs it.

It builds on the part of Lara’s plan that makes changes to the process of approving insurance rate increases. The bill would add language to the insurance code that tightens the timeline of the review process, giving the Insurance Department up to 120 days — an initial 60 days, with options for two 30-day extensions — to respond to insurer rate-review requests with a newly required estimated rate. At that point, unless there is an objection by a consumer or consumer representative, the insurance companies can accept the estimated rate and apply it.

Currently the law says the Insurance Department must act on rate filings within 60 days without a hearing or 180 days with a hearing. But Michael Soller, spokesperson for the department, said that as of February, the average time for homeowner filings was 196 days.

“By enacting this important part of our strategy in statute, the Legislature can help us meet the urgency of the moment,” Lara said in a statement after the governor released the text of the bill.

“This proposal requires the Department of Insurance to modernize and streamline its rate application process to get back to the expedited timelines outlined in Prop. 103,” said Alex Stack, a spokesperson for the governor.

Carmen Balber, executive director of the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, said the tightened timeline for the state to respond with a rate estimate “seriously hamstrings oversight by the (insurance) department overall” as well as the role of intervenors such as her group. She said because the bill requires the Insurance Department to provide an estimated rate within 120 days, insurance companies could essentially be guaranteed rate increases three times a year — of less than 7% each time without triggering the risk of a hearing under Proposition 103, California’s insurance law that requires the state to approve rates — regardless of whether they can justify them.

The strict timeline “severely limits the information the department and intervenors can obtain” from insurers, Balber said, adding that she hopes lawmakers will “fix it.”

The chair of the Senate’s insurance committee, Sen. Susan Rubio, on Wednesday said she supports the bill. “I could not be more pleased with (the governor’s) proposal to help reduce unnecessary red tape,” the Los Angeles Democrat wrote in an emailed statement.

State lawmakers have been under pressure from their constituents to do something about the insurance market, with some of them proposing legislation to try to ensure individual and community efforts to help prevent wildfires count toward insurance affordability. The office of Assemblymember Lisa Calderon, chair of the Assembly’s insurance committee and another Los Angeles Democrat, did not respond to a request for comment on the governor’s proposal in time for publication.

The insurance industry is optimistic that the bill will speed things up.

Rex Frazier, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of California, said insurance companies that submit rate increase requests typically don’t hear back from the Insurance Department for four or five months. “At least now, they have to show their work by 60 days,” Frazier said. “The proposal provides more clarity and accountability to all parties involved in the process.”

Denni Ritter, vice president for state government relations for another industry group, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, said the group was still evaluating the text of the bill. “Streamlining the rate review process will help increase consumer access to coverage by ensuring rates adequately reflect risk and consumer claims,” she said.

Lara’s overall plan, which he has dubbed the Sustainable Insurance Strategy, also includes allowing insurance companies to use catastrophe modeling; letting insurers incorporate reinsurance costs in their rates; and improving the FAIR Plan, including by requiring increased insurance coverage.

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Amelia Agnes Kimson
Dec. 26, 1932-May 25, 2024

Amelia was born at the dawn of aviation in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, to parents Mary “Avice” and Otis Holt. She was named after the pioneering American aviator Amelia Earhart. She lived in Sapulpa and Langley, Oklahoma during her early life. At age 18 she married her first husband, Leroy Oberg. Her sister Doris sang at this wedding. This marriage later ended. After that she met Milton Filgas and moved to California, marrying him and continuing to raise and grow their family.

Mom worked for many years for the Humboldt State University Student Health Center on the administrative side. In the early 1980s she obtained her commercial truck driving license from the College of the Redwoods Truck Driving program. For many years she and her husband Milton traveled the country long hauling as owner-operators of Ranjo Express. They had a Shih Tzu trucking companion named Shoko who they both adored. That little dog loved being on the road with them both at his side. After a number of years while Milton was still truck driving Amelia came back to work for HSU in their business office to finish working for the State and obtain her State retirement. Then she studied for and obtained her California Real Estate License and worked shortly for Hartridge House Realty in Eureka.

She finished her working years doing medical transcription, initially for the Hill Transcription Service and then as her own business. Around this time in 1994 Milton passed away and she fully retired and began traveling around the world visiting Japan, Italy, France, Russia and other places with her sister Doris, with the Trafalgar Tour groups, by herself and finally with her third husband James Kimson.

Not one to like being alone, Mom met James in 2001 and they were married at the Sequoia Park Rose Garden in Eureka just a few months later the same year. They spent the last 23 years together, until May 25 of this year, at their home in McKinleyville. She spent her early life raising four children Otis, Debbie, Randy and Joe and doing it well, instilling important human values in each. She was very proud of all of them and their lifelong accomplishments. She loved her house in McKinleyville and her backyard. She continued to enjoy doing yard work almost up to the end. She loved her beautiful yellow roses by their front door. Over the last few years of her life she immensely enjoyed putting together large puzzles which she then framed and hung on the wall all about their home. She absolutely loved her large 3D puzzles of famous buildings like Downton Abbey, The Eiffel Tower, The Capitol Building and the Empire State Building. Just as recently as Mother’s Day she was planning on ordering more 3D puzzles for herself to build. They adorned a number of tables in their living room. She loved, very much, all her grandchildren and when able, over the years, would attend ball games, music performances, birthdays and more. She was not only a wonderful wife and mother, but also a wonderful and loving grandmother to all our kids

Amelia was preceded in death by her parents Mary “Avice” and Otis Holt, her first husband Leroy Oberg, her sisters Virginia Gibson and Doris Braun, her mother-in-law Frances Filgas and her father-in-law Joseph Filgas, her son Randy Filgas and her second husband Milton Filgas. She leaves behind her husband James Kimson, eldest son Otis Holt (Lorin Leith), her daughter Debbie Provolt (Monte) , her youngest son Joe Filgas (Lorrena) and her daughter-in-law Patricia Martell (Ron). She also leaves behind grandchildren Madeline Richards (John), Ryan Filgas (Nicole), Laura Provolt (Hans Parshall), Mitchell Provolt (Kendal), Claiborne Martell, Kai Martell and Shannon Filgas. She also leaves behind numerous great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Services are being handled by Sanders Funeral Home at 1835 E Street, Eureka, CA 95501. Memorial Services for Amelia will be held on Friday May 31, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. with an interment immediately following at Ocean View St. Bernard’s Cemetery in Eureka. All who knew her or her family are welcome to attend.

Her Journey’s Just Begun

By an Unknown Author

Don’t think of her as gone away her journey’s just begun life holds so many facets this earth is only one.
Just think of her as resting from the sorrows and the tears in a place of warmth and comfort where there are no days or years.
Think how she must be wishing that we could know today
how nothing but our sadness can really pass away.
And think of her as living in the hearts of those she touched for nothing loved is ever lost and she was loved so much.

Amelia’s entire family wishes to extend their gratitude to Providence St. Joseph’s Hospital, Dr. Jonathan Bloch, Elite Caregivers, Sanders Funeral Home, Ocean View Cemetery and Hospice of Humboldt. Memorial contributions may be made in her name to Hospice of Humboldt.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Amelia Kimson’s loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.

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Humboldt County boasts hundreds of miles of scenic trails. By our count, there are well over 250 miles of walkable and bikeable trails here in Humboldt – and that’s only counting trails managed by the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, California State Parks, local municipalities and the county. 

If you frequent any of those trails — or are excited about new ones — you’ll want to attend the 2024 Humboldt Trails Summit at the Sequoia Conference Center in Eureka this Saturday. 

Map of the proposed path of the Great Redwood Trail. Click to enlarge.

This year’s summit will highlight ongoing and upcoming trail projects across the region. Senate President pro tempore Mike McGuire and Elaine Hogan, Executive Director of the Great Redwood Trail Agency, will provide an update on the Great Redwood Trail, a state-led initiative to transform the old rail line between Humboldt Bay and San Francisco Bay into a 300-mile multi-use trail. 

The Great Redwood Trail Agency released its 586-page Draft Master Plan for the ambitious rail-to-trail project at the beginning of last month. The plan serves as a guiding document to address trail-related issues, including design components, operations and maintenance, habit restoration, funding opportunities, and management. The Master Plan covers Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties; the southern portion of the trail will be planned and constructed by the Sonoma-Marin Area Transit (SMART).

“The Master Plan is a huge document, but it is really vital for the public to give their input,” Karen Underwood, a board member with the Humboldt Trails Council, told the Outpost. “Some of these planners don’t necessarily live in Humboldt County, and we’re the ones who know about our local conditions and our communities, right? This is our opportunity to share that information because if you don’t give it to them, whatever you get is, well, what you’re gonna get.”

Members of the public have until Monday, June 3 to submit their written comments on the draft plan. Online comments can be submitted at this link or emailed to info@greatredwoodtrailplan.org.

Local officials will provide updates on various other trail projects, including Humboldt Bay Trail South, a long-planned project to connect the Eureka Waterfront Trail to the southern end of Humboldt Bay Trail North, near the Bracut Industrial Park. 

Hank Seemann, Humboldt County’s deputy director of environmental services, said the county is on track to complete the highly anticipated project by the end of October. Eventually, the county hopes to extend the Humboldt Bay Trail all the way to College of the Redwoods.

“This segment is a regional priority for enhancing active transportation and recreation opportunities along the coast, especially for the communities of Humboldt Hill, King Salmon, and Fields Landing, and for serving the students and staff of College of the Redwoods,” Seemann wrote in an email to the Outpost. The county is developing a planning study, in coordination with the Great Redwood Trail Agency, to evaluate existing conditions and analyze constraints along the existing railroad corridor, he said.

“All this information will support applying for funding for the next phase of project development (detailed engineering, environmental review and permitting, and any additional right-of-way),” Seemann continued. “Once that phase is complete, then funding would be pursued for the construction phase. At this point, it’s uncertain whether Humboldt County or the Great Redwood Trail Agency would lead the next phases. There will need to be a financial plan and capacity to take on the additional management and maintenance responsibilities.”

Local officials will also provide updates on Eureka’s Bay-to-Zoo Trail, the Eel River Trail in Rio Dell and the Annie and Mary Trail Connectivity Project between Arcata and Blue Lake. 

Carol Vander Meer, projects coordinator for the Redwood Community Action Agency (RCAA), encouraged members of the public to come with questions. Members of the public are asked to send trail-related questions in advance to trailssummit@humtrails.org. 

“There’ll be an opportunity for one-on-one conversations with different trail-supporting organizations, as well as a chance to hear presentations and ask questions,” she said. “People come to the summit and find a place where they can plug in to support the development of our regional trail system. Trails really have the ability to transform lives and increase connectivity [among] community members.”

The Humboldt Trails Summit will be held at the Sequoia Conference Center in Eureka on Saturday, June 1. Check out the flyer below for more information.

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Amid ongoing budget negotiations, legislative leaders today released their counter proposal to a recent plan by Gov. Gavin Newsom to close California’s projected multibillion-dollar deficit.

The legislative proposal rejects some of the major spending cuts that Newsom is seeking, including to college scholarships for middle-income students, public health programs, subsidized child care slots and housing development, while pushing for more substantial reductions to prison funding.

But it aligns with the governor’s approach of minimizing the use of reserve accounts next year, as California faces a revenue shortfall that is expected to continue for several more years beyond that, and suggests doubling the size of the state’s rainy-day fund over time.

The legislative plan, an agreement between Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly, also endorses Newsom’s ideas of creating a temporary holding account for future projected budget surpluses until the money actually materializes.

The Legislature has a few weeks left to reach a deal with Newsom, as it approaches a June 15 deadline to pass a balanced budget or lose its pay and the July 1 start of the fiscal year. After lawmakers and the governor took early action last month, finance officials project the remaining shortfall to be more than $27 billion next year.

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Salinas Democrat, said in a statement that the Legislature’s proposal is “focused on preserving programs that matter most to Californians: lowering the cost of living, expanding affordable housing access and sustaining public services.”

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

Press release from the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury:

The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury has released the second report of their 2023-2024 term, entitled Humboldt County Facilities: Owning vs. Leasing. The County of Humboldt pays close to $500,000 every month, nearly $6 million per year, to lease office space for employees throughout the County. Would the money be better spent in the long run on owning these facilities instead?

The County currently leases more properties than they own – 53% vs. 47%. We limited our investigation to office space within the City of Eureka, which accounts for 90% of the lease payments. Most of these properties have been under lease for 25 years or more. One of the larger Department of Health and Human Services facilities, 929 Koster Street, has 30,669 square feet, accommodates 169 county workers, and has been leased for almost 50 years.

Long-term leasing is more expensive than building and owning facilities, with 7 years being widely accepted as the point where ownership begins to save money. Whether leased or owned, consolidation of operations for increased efficiency and enhanced customer service is a concern. The 2020 Humboldt County Facilities Master Plan calls for building infrastructure and consolidating operations. Progress has been slow.

The Grand Jury determined that there is little excess capacity in county buildings, that citizens would be better served by having services consolidated in fewer locations, and that in the long run owning facilities saves the taxpayers money. We acknowledge that the current state of County finances prohibits making these investments and urge the Board of Supervisors to explore alternate means of funding, to include issuing bonds. We urge our elected officials to look not just at next year but at the next 10 or 20 years, and to make the best decisions for our future.

If you want to serve your community in a unique way that could improve local government this is your opportunity. Applications to serve on the Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury can be found at https://humboldtgov.org/510/Civil-Grand-Jury. Additional information provided by the Civil Grand Jurors Association of California can be found at https://cgja.org/.

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DOCUMENT: HCCGJ Report: County Facilities

PREVIOUSLY: In First Report of the Year, Grand Jury Recommends Civilian Oversight Board for the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office

UPDATE, 3:20 p.m.: Ashley Taylor, Crescent City Director of Economic Development and Recreation, reached out to the Outpost asking that we clarify her city’s position on fake Star Wars weaponry.

“Please clarify that light sabers [sic] are permitted,” Taylor said. “We are referring to fake firearms, knives, swords, etc… If individuals have questions about their costume prop, they should reach out to myself or Chief Griffin at the Crescent City Police Department. We will have booths at both day’s events where people can check in with us about their prop. Thank you!”

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Original Post: In advance of this weekend’s Forest Moon Festival, Crescent City officials have issued a stern warning to those who might be planning to stage a Han Solo-and-Greedo-like showdown in their nice, quiet, little beach community: Don’t.

A public service announcement below:

As we approach the highly anticipated Forest Moon Festival this Friday and Saturday, the City of Crescent City would like to inform event-goers that for everyone’s safety and enjoyment, costume weapons will not be permitted at either the Friday or Saturday events. This is to ensure a fun experience for all and prevent any potential concerns for law enforcement.

Participants are welcome to come by the City’s check-in table on Saturday if they are unsure of any aspect of their costume and want to ensure it is permittable.

Questions or concerns can be directed to Ashley Taylor at 707-464-7483, ext. 238.

For Athens Marron, transitioning from his hometown in the Coachella Valley to College of the Redwoods in Humboldt County felt isolating. Marron, a sociology major and ethnic studies minor, said he found it difficult to connect with other Latino students or participate in activities that would keep him from going directly home at the end of his day.

Shortly after transferring to Cal Poly Humboldt in fall 2022, he received an email about the PromotorX Transformative Educators Program, an opportunity funded by a federal Hispanic Serving Institutions grant.

“I signed up and went to the first meeting, and right away, it was a home away from home for me. It was that sense of community,” said Marron. “It definitely gave me more perspective on what I want to continue to pursue, which was education with high school students.”

Marron’s experience is exactly what the federal Hispanic Serving Institutions grant program was intended to do: create an environment on campus where Latino students feel like they belong, leading them to seek new opportunities on the path to graduation. Campuses have a wide range of flexibility in how they design their programs, and whether students are involved. The grants last up to five years, after which campuses can reapply for funding or find other ways to support their programs.

At that point, some programs may expand with new funding while others scale down, surviving only through the efforts of students or faculty. But experts say to truly serve Latino students and improve their outcomes, campuses must create programs that can keep running even after grant funding dries up.

Student Athens Marron at the Cal Poly Humboldt Library in Arcata on March 22, 2024. Photo by Mark McKenna for CalMatters

Marisol Ruiz, the PromotorX Transformative Educators Program coordinator and a tenured professor of education, trains students of color to be teachers. Students create lesson plans and teach at local high schools. The campus received $2.7 million from the U.S. Department of Education starting in 2018, but as the program approaches the end of its grant cycle, Ruiz said that it may only continue unfunded and at a smaller scale.

“We can create nice positions, but who’s doing the work, and are we going to continue that work?” Ruiz said.

When the grants run out, even impactful programs like Cal Poly Humboldt’s can fizzle all together.

After the grant ends some colleges, such as Cal State Northridge, apply for new grants to improve their already successful programs. Others, like Cabrillo College and Cal State Long Beach, try to integrate programs campuswide or continue them as student organizations.

Moving beyond enrollment to serve Latino students

California colleges and universities enrolled over 900,000 Hispanic undergraduate students during the 2022-23 school year, 90% of whom attend a Hispanic Serving Institution. California’s Latino college population is nearly double the next closest state, Texas, where over 500,000 Latino undergraduates are enrolled.

Still, just 22% of Hispanic adults age 25 and older have earned an associate’s or bachelor’s degree in California, compared to 56% of White non-Hispanic adults, according to Excelencia in Education, a nonprofit organization that supports Latino students in higher education. Researchers say intentionally serving Latino students means adjusting the structure of the campus to support their strengths beyond simply increasing Hispanic student enrollment.

• Read More: Are California’s Hispanic Serving Institutions living up to their name?

To apply for funding, institutions must have at least a 50% low-income student enrollment and at least a 25% Hispanic undergraduate enrollment. Projects that receive federal dollars must follow non-discrimination requirements, meaning programs do not exclusively cater to Hispanic students.

California’s 172 Hispanic Serving colleges and universities have been some of the largest beneficiaries of the federal grant program. They have received $637 million in grants ranging from $500,000 to $1,00,000 since 1995. Still, advocates and students say the HSI designation is not synonymous with specifically meeting the needs of Latino students.

“One thing that makes us relate and come together is the fact that the institution doesn’t give us that sense of community,” Marron said. “They don’t serve us. It’s more like we’re creating that.”

The campus of Cal State Northridge in Northridge on August 19, 2022. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for CalMatters

Providing training for faculty or creating student cohorts with peer academic support are approaches that have proven effective, according to Deborah Santiago, CEO of Excelencia in Education. But the Department of Education does not require that colleges tie their grants directly to student success.Santiago is a leading researcher in teaching methods that improve academic and non-academic outcomes for Latino students. Her organization launched the Seal of Excelencia in 2019 to create higher standards for supporting Latino students beyond enrollment. In California, 12 campuses are currently certified with the seal.

Certified institutions, like Cal State Northridge, have been recognized for their efforts to make their federal grant funded programs a lasting part of their campuses. Led by engineering and computer science professor, S.K. Ramesh, the campus reapplied and expanded its STEM program for Hispanic and other underserved students with consecutive grants. Ramesh said support from campus leadership, faculty and staff have been key to securing ongoing federal funding, and to integrate components the program piloted, like undergraduate research opportunities, campuswide.

“If the money, if the program, and the practices go away when the money ends, I feel like that’s disingenuous,” Santiago said. “You didn’t build capacity. You didn’t improve the institution. You just did a grant, and I don’t think we look at that enough to say, ‘Have you institutionalized what you’ve piloted so that it serves your students well beyond the grant?’”

Limited funding and staffing mean many successful programs don’t continue

Ruiz is the only coordinator leading the PromotorX Transformative Educators Program, something she says could be its own full-time position. Each semester, Ruiz trains groups of about 10 students in culturally responsive teaching. The predominantly Latino cohort of students received $600 stipends to host writing and editing workshops at local high schools and attended conferences that can cost $20,000 a year, according to Ruiz.

Ruiz also advises three student clubs, conducts her own research, teaches two courses and serves as a graduate program coordinator. She’s not had time to draft a new application, but is researching other funding sources to make her program a permanent part of the campus.

“We’re still teaching. We’re still advising. So I think, yeah, we need more support, ” Ruiz said.

Students are filling gaps in resources once programs end

At Cal State Long Beach, Latino students have stepped in to sustain some aspects of their HSI program that recently lost funding.

Starting in 2017, Cal State Long Beach received $2.4 million to launch the Caminos Project to encourage students to become teachers. The program also included curriculum development and outreach to high school students and their families.

Within four years, the program served 180 students who took courses together and had access to tutors and an academic advisor. For the duration of the Caminos Project, Latino enrollment in majors leading to credential programs increased by nearly 28%, according to Anna Ortiz, dean of the College of Education at Cal State Long Beach.

With the grant funding, the Caminos Project hired an academic coach, a program coordinator, and peer mentors. When the grant period ended in September 2023, only the former academic coach continued working at the campus. The program has transformed into a student club, Caminantes for Education, where students serve as unpaid board members.

First: Students part of Caminantes for Education create vision boards as the end of the school year approaches at Cal State Long Beach. Last: Jeremy Ramos looks through newspapers for his vision board. March 19, 2024. Photos by Zaydee Sanchez for CalMatters

“I feel like there was a good balance between different kinds of support as a student, and I know as a club it’s definitely not the same,” said Alexis Monsivais, a former member of the Caminos Project who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts in December 2023.

The program has some lasting impacts, including curriculum changes in the course catalog and a collection of videos on culturally responsive teaching for new mentors and faculty. However, Monsivais said that as a new club, they have struggled to find allies on campus and were pushed out of their designated room in the College of Education once federal funding ended.

“The power of having a program coordinator, someone older like an academic coach, someone there who’s actively vouching for you — that was definitely a struggle that we had for the first year,” Monsivais said about the challenges of transitioning to a club.

Campuses creating institutional change beyond grants

Some leaders have integrated the idea of servingness into their programs. Created by leading HSI scholars like Gina Ann Garcia, a professor at the UC Berkeley School of Education, the framework outlines how campuses can better support Latino students.

“If we think about what our Latine students need, then we change the organization to adapt to the students instead of expecting students to adapt to the institution,” Garcia said.

Starting in 2019, Cabrillo College received $3 million to improve its transfer pathway to Cal State Monterey Bay for 30 students each year. The partnership also provided academic counselors and peer mentors.

During the 2021-22 school year, the program at Cabrillo College served 27 students — over 90% of them were Latino. Around 30% of Latino and low-income students were ready to transfer with their degrees within two years, compared to the 10% who earned their degrees in two years but were not program participants. Cabrillo College has signed a guarantee with Cal State Monterey Bay for transfer admission, which Cabrillo College’s Title V Director, Ann Endris, said helps their work continue after the grant.

While the program at Cabrillo College has been successful in graduating its Latino students, Endris, who helps manage federal HSI grants at Cabrillo College, said grant funded programs should not be the only place on campuses that offer support for Latino students.

Cabrillo College established an HSI task force of over 50 faculty, staff and administrators in 2021 to provide recommendations on how the campus can provide support for students outside of programs funded by Hispanic Serving Institutions grants. The college also established an HSI leadership team to ensure that the recommendations are put into practice.

“We have really developed HSI as a full-on initiative and movement at Cabrillo so that these grants are not in an isolated corner,” Endris said. “It doesn’t matter what shared governance meeting you’re in. If you’re in Faculty Senate or wherever you are, people are talking about HSI and HSI work.”

Endris said that even after their grant period ends, the program will continue partnering with Cal State Monterey Bay to bring the strategies from its transfer pathways to other programs. They still plan to collaborate with peer mentors from Cal State Monterey Bay to guide transfer students and keep tools that have helped academic counselors.

Students walk through campus at Cabrillo College in Aptos on Dec. 7, 2023. Photo by Loren Elliott for CalMatters

Like at Cabrillo, building upon successful grant programs has been the focus at Cal State Northridge. Ramesh has been the sole writer of the HSI grants, with guidance from fellow faculty, since he joined the university as a dean in 2006. After noticing that some students did not have role models in engineering, he launched the Attract, Inspire, Mentor and Support Students program.

He secured a $5.4 million HSI STEM grant starting in 2011. The program provided engineering students with study skills, time management workshops, community research opportunities along with faculty and peer mentors from their majors. Over a six-year period, the program served 138 students from Cal State Northridge and 377 students from College of the Canyons and Glendale Community College.

Cal State Northridge then received $6.2 million in 2016 from the same federal grant, which was used to continue the program. This time, the program served 500 students at Cal State Northridge and 3,000 students at four partner community colleges over another six-year period. Cal State Northridge students in the program had six-year graduation rates of 85% during the first grant period and 92% during the second grant, compared to Cal State Northridge’s average of 56%.

The grant has affected students beyond those who enrolled in the program. Undergraduate research opportunities and peer mentorship programs, both piloted by the HSI program, are now offered campuswide by the Office of Undergraduate Research.

Ramesh said some programs may be well-intentioned, but they may only serve a handful of students, and not all aspects of the program can be scaled to a larger student population without sufficient staff, space and funding.

“So strategically at the top, there has to be buy-in at the university level,” Ramesh said. “There has to be buy-in at the faculty level, there has to be buy-in at the staff level. Everybody plays a part in this because it’s not just one group that can take sole responsibility for either implementing the program or measuring the outcomes.”

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Barahona is a fellow with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

The CalMatters Ideas Festival takes place June 5-6! Find out more and get your tickets at this link.

CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.