TESTIMONY
Phong Yang on the Launch and Impact of Fresno State University's Bulldog Bound Program
0:07:40
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5 min
Phong Yang discusses Fresno State University's Bulldog Bound, a program offering direct admissions from high schools, emphasizing its partnership model and early impacts.
- The Bulldog Bound program facilitates a direct admission pathway for high school students to Fresno State, involving a partnership between the university, school districts, students, and their parents.
- Begins engaging students as early as 9th grade, providing them with a Fresno State ID, access to university facilities, and participation in college readiness activities.
- A significant proportion of Fresno State students are first-generation, underscoring the value of the program in educating both students and their parents on college preparation.
- Early results show increased engagement from rural schools, a 98% admission rate through the program, and shifts in participant demographics.
- Future plans include enabling dual enrollment and making participants eligible for the new Bulldog scholarship, further enhancing collaboration between Fresno State, school districts, and other community stakeholders.
Phong Yang
0:07:40
Good afternoon.
0:07:42
Colleagues council, members, chairs.
0:07:45
It's a pleasure to join you for on this particular in very important meeting.
0:07:50
My name is Phong Yang, and I serve as the associate vice president for strategic enrollment at Fresno State.
0:07:56
We're one of the 23 CSU campuses in the state of California.
0:08:00
And back in the fall of 2023, we started a program called War Dog Bound.
0:08:06
Board of Bound is a direct admission or guaranteed admission from high schools directly into Fresno State.
0:08:14
And part of the program, these are the key features that I just want to highlight.
0:08:20
It is a program that requires a commitment from the university, Fresno State, the school districts, the students, and the parents.
0:08:28
So these are the 4 components.
0:08:30
And we start the program enrolling students at the earliest in the 9th grade, all the way through the 12th grade, and these students can sign up in at any grade level.
0:08:40
And they are following a a specific curriculum depending on their grade level.
0:08:46
What the program does, it it provides a clear intangible pathway to Fresno State.
0:08:51
It does guarantee admission to Fresno State, but that is and for lack of better word, the icing on the cake behind the program is really the activities and the programming and the building of the sense of belonging.
0:09:04
For these students.
0:09:06
As early as 11th grade, we look at their, you know, whether they are on track for Fresno State, and we offer them a preadmission.
0:09:14
Package at that time.
0:09:15
And then in the fall semester of the senior year, then they apply to Fresno State as of soon, and they get automatically admitted.
0:09:22
Then as they sign up, as early in the 9th grade, these students get into our database, we give them a frozen state ID, the same ID that they will be utilizing when they apply to frozen state.
0:09:35
They will get a ID card.
0:09:37
Which provides them access to our library, and also provides them discounts to our sporting events as well.
0:09:45
And then along with the program, the students participate in many colleges and Success Preparation activities.
0:09:52
At their campus and also on our campus.
0:09:55
The part of the program is that they build they have a campus experience at Fresno State.
0:10:01
Along with them, along the activities for the students, we also provide parent engagement many of our our students are 1st generation.
0:10:11
So over 65% 65% of our students who attend Fresno State of 1st generation.
0:10:15
So we understand the need for the parents to be informed as well.
0:10:19
We are informing the students about the things that we are teaching their their students.
0:10:25
And then starting next year, we also are looking at dual enrollment, which will allow these students to take courses at Fresno State.
0:10:33
Along with the program, the students who participate can also participate now can also be eligible for our our new Bulldog scholarship as well.
0:10:43
And what it allows us to do, what the program really allows to do is is really create a channel for collaboration between our Fresno state all different entities at Fresno State, not just enrollment departments, but various departments at Fresno as the academic to technology services, to enrollment management, but also he opens the door for our off campus committee stakeholders, like the the school districts, to the the high school counselors, all the way down to the students and the parents.
0:11:15
So that that in a nutshell is the highlight of, you know, the key features of the Bode diagram program.
0:11:22
Currently, we have 34 high school disk 34 school districts that have a sign at Henley, Unifreson State that equates to a total of 81 high school students, 881 high schools.
0:11:35
And since since August of 2023, We have 5000 students sign up on and out of those 5000, 47% are are seniors and, you know, and all the way and we have 18% junior 19% sophomores, 14% first time freshman for a freshman who have who have signed up for the program.
0:11:56
The impact of the programs, we could see right away there's some preliminary impact is that some school districts who used to rank in terms of field school for Fresno State as as low as 9th or 10th.
0:12:09
They are now number 2 in the number of students register for boardwalk bounds.
0:12:13
So those are more of our rural area schools.
0:12:16
So that really definitely provide access to the students.
0:12:21
Also, you know, our we have over 1700 students who have applied through Bulldog bound.
0:12:26
And we have an admission rate of 98% right now for these for these students.
0:12:31
So those are preliminary report in terms of, like, just a return on the the investment that we made with the program.
0:12:38
We're also seeing a shift in the demographics of participants as well, Fresno State.
0:12:42
Is has a 60% of enrollment for instance, they are Hispanic, but participants who have applied in the broader pro program For example, Hispanic part of the our Hispanic population, it makes up 74% of our applicants in border bound So definitely a shift as well in the demographics and access in in those school districts.
0:13:04
So I will pause there.
0:13:08
I think that I I will open it up to questions if the the committee members have any questions at this time.