The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) is celebrating its 15th anniversary of working to increase higher education attainment in California's Central Valley. Formed in 2000 with 18 members, CVHEC now has 27 member institutions. CVHEC aims to improve college access and success through initiatives like articulation agreements, student support services, and a college boot camp. Looking ahead, CVHEC will focus on reducing time to degree completion and remediation to help reach the Lumina Foundation's Goal 2025 of increasing the number of Americans with high-quality credentials.

1. CENTRAL VALLEY
HIGHER EDUCATION CONSORTIUM
University of California Center
550 E. Shaw Ave., Suite 100, Fresno, CA 93710-7702
559.292.0576
Op-Ed CVHEC 15th
Anniversary
2015 marks the 15th
year anniversary of the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium
(CVHEC) and its joint effort to provide effective leadership that promotes programs, policies, and
performance designed to increase higher education attainment in the Central Valley.
In 2000, former Fresno State president Dr. John D. Welty, with funding from the James Irvine
Foundation, assembled the consortium to unite the higher education institutions around college access
and success. Today membership has grown from 18 to 27 institutions of public, private, and
independent colleges and universities. Our board is made up of this region’s higher education leaders,
with President Joseph Sheley, President CSU, Stanislaus, as the Chair. Fresno State continues to
manage the operations under their Foundation under the leadership of President Joseph Castro.
In the past, Central Valley continued to lag behind the state in college going, at 13% of our
population holding a B.A. degree, while state wide we are at 20%. Facts show that college graduates
earn more, learn more, and have more choices in life. Thus, we have a great need for a uniformed
effort to move the college completion dial forward. CVHEC is making progress. The Central Valley
colleges and universities that belong to the consortium continue to work diligently and are making
significant headway to provide a high quality education that promotes wider access to obtaining
certificates and degrees.
Collectively our CVHEC institutions graduate over 180,000 students annually. We have
articulation agreements that ease transfer from community college to our area universities, in line with
Senate Bill 1440. Many of our institutions have received recent accolades such as: West Hills College
Lemoore was listed USA Today’s “Top Community College in Northern California”, Fresno State was
selected for a national Excellence and Innovation Award, College of Sequoias students rated it 97%
satisfied or very satisfied, and Clovis Community College joined the CVHEC as its newest campus
after its recent accreditation.
Some exciting work is ahead this year for the CVHEC. Going into our fifth boot camp this
December, we plan to offer a 4-day, 3-night experience to teach students college and career readiness
skills they need to be successful. Supported by the Fresno Regional Foundation, we will work with the
neediest high schools in our south valley to recruit students who will be the first in their family to
attend college. Over 220 students have attended our College and Career Boot Camp in the past,
receiving leadership training to go onto become trained College/Career Opportunity Ambassadors.
CVHEC has signed on with the Lumina Foundation to kick off Goal 2025 Campaign, a
national effort that is committed to significantly increasing the proportion of Americans with high-
• UC Merced • CSU Bakersfield • CSU Fresno • CSU Stanislaus • Fresno Pacific University • University of the Pacific • Alliant International University
• DeVry University • National University • College of the Sequoias • Merced College
• Taft College • San Joaquin Delta College • Kern Community College District • Bakersfield College • Cerro Coso College • Porterville College
• State Center Community College District • Fresno City College • Reedley College • West Hills Community College District
• West Hills College Coalinga • West Hills College Lemoore • Yosemite Community College District • Columbia College • Modesto Junior College
www.CollegeNext.org

2. OP-ED
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quality degrees, certificates, and other credentials by 2025. We know that one of the most important
ways to reach this timely goal is to make sure that students are graduating within a reasonable time.
Working with Complete College America, we have signed on to implement game changers,
one of which is 15 to Finish that would limit the time it takes students to obtain a degree and increase
the number of students graduating in 4-years, versus 6.
Moving forward the CVHEC will continue a heightened focus on improving completion rates
of Central Valley students, decreasing remediation among first time freshman and transfers, and career
pathways. Our working committees will include experts from our member institutions in the areas of
research, outreach, student support services, marketing, and advocacy to include working with the Neo
Foundation on a student advocacy initiative that will raise graduation rates among former foster care
youth. To show support for CVHEC 15th
Anniversary, Find us and like us on Facebook!
The Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC) is one of the largest of
its type in California. All members are college and university CEOs and are committed to pursuing
regional initiatives that focus on better servicing students from access to completion. For more
information go to www.collegenext.org
Cheri Cruz, Acting Executive Director
Central Valley Higher Education Consortium
550 E. Shaw Ave., Suite 100, Fresno, CA 93710
Home Office: 559.292.0576