New Programs, Building Re-openings and Ventura Campus Relocation Highlight Fall Semester

PACE Degree Programs for Working Adults

The two PACE programs share the common feature of permitting upper division students to complete their degrees at CSUN in about two years‹mostly by attending accelerated eight-week classes that meet only one weeknight each week and every other Saturday, to fit work schedules.

PACE stands for Project for Adult College Education. The new CSUN programs mirror popular ones already offered at local community colleges, giving those PACE students for the first time an easy scheduling transition to CSUN for completing their degrees.

Both CSUN programs already are proving popular. The new CSUN business program has about 80 students enrolled for the fall, double what had been anticipated. The liberal studies program‹aimed at those planning to become elementary school teachers‹is nearly at its initial 30-student capacity.

CSUN First On-line Degree

The program, begun in the spring with an initial cohort of about 30 students, was developed jointly by CSUN¹s College of Extended Learning and the Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences in the College of Health and Human Development.

The 30-month program is aimed at speech pathologists working in public school districts throughout California who must comply with a state mandate that they obtain master¹s degrees.

CSUN¹s on-campus master¹s degree program in the field routinely draws far more applicants than can be accepted, reflecting a statewide instructional shortage. CSUN officials believe the on-line master¹s program in speech-language pathology is the first of its kind in the nation and will help address that shortage.

Major Campus Building Re-openings

Monterey Hall, a three-story former dormitory building near Nordhoff Street and Zelzah Avenue, has just re-opened following a $3.7 million earthquake repair and conversion.

The building will provide a much improved and more accessible home for CSUN¹s Department of Communication Disorders and Sciences, including its Language, Speech and Hearing Center, which handles more than 12,000 patient visits annually from community members.

Soon, Monterey Hall also will house a new CSUN Center for Community Services, a one-stop referral source for campus services to the community.

Also, in late July, move-in began for the entirely redone Student Services Building, a $7.5 million earthquake repair and conversion of CSUN¹s five-story former Administration Building.

The building will become the ³one-stop shop² for a range of student service functions that previously were spread around the campus. CSUN remains on track to complete the bulk of its $406 million earthquake recovery during the year 2000.

Reviving Arts Education in the San Fernando Valley

The first year of the initiative has been funded with grants awarded by the state Department of Education and the California Arts Council to CSUN and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The initiative responds to an LAUSD plan adopted in 1998 to pursue restoring visual and performing arts education in its schools.

An initial component of the joint initiative will involve conducting an arts education needs assessment for San Fernando Valley schools to determine items such as what is being taught and what resources are available.

Subsequent elements will include training workshops for public school arts teachers and connecting arts teachers and their students with local community artists. The Valley Cultural Center also is a partner in the venture.

Ventura Campus Moves to Channel Islands

By leaving the leased building in Ventura that has housed the CSUN satellite for the past 11 years, the newly named Cal State Northridge at Channel Islands program will triple its available space to about 100,000 square feet in four buildings during the fall semester.

The CSUN satellite program serves about 1,650 students and employs 17 staff members and about 120 faculty members. The program will continue to offer nine undergraduate majors, five master¹s degrees and four teacher credential options.

A public welcoming celebration for the program¹s new location is set for 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26, at the Channel Islands campus.

Northridge Business Improvement District

The Los Angeles City Council tentatively approved the project in mid-June, and has scheduled a final vote in the near future.

Under the district, property owners along Reseda Boulevard from Lassen Street to Roscoe Boulevard agree to an annual assessment that a local governing board will use to improve the general business climate.

Local business owners also want to create stronger ties to the university. CSUN Marketing Department Chair Judith Hennessey led a university effort to create a five-year marketing and public relations plan for the planned district, including the selection of ³Northridge Oasis² as its theme.

San Fernando Valley Economy Report

The 1999­2000 report will be released this year at the VICA Business Forecast Conference on Friday, Nov. 5, 1999, at the Warner Center Marriott. The report will be the featured topic at the opening breakfast session and set the theme for the day.

The center¹s work has been well received since its launch last fall. Nearly 2,000 copies of its first report have been distributed‹to the business community, opinion leaders, public figures and a broad spectrum of others interested in objective data about the SFV economy.