Over the past several months, our staff and faculty have been hard at work making institutional improvements that will add to the learner experience. As president, I am continually in awe of our dedicated team striving for academic excellence and continual progress. CalSouthern has remained strong and persistent in our efforts to ensure a bright future for the University and its learners despite the global challenges faced over the past year. It is my honor and privilege to present the following updates and improvements here at California Southern University.
New Learner Services Help Desk
As of April 2021, CalSouthern has launched our new Learning Management System and transitioned to a team-based approach for supporting learners through their academic journey.
The new team-based approach makes the collective knowledge and experience of our entire Learner Support Services department available to learners and allows our entire team to, through the newly launched Learner Services Help Desk, respond to inquiries even more efficiently. The Learner Support Services Help Desk also has a bank of frequently asked questions as a resource when navigating the systems and services available while attending CalSouthern. This improvement will help our learners get the information they need, a great complement to our already-robust support system.
Introducing Canvas and Colleague
We are excited to announce CalSouthern’s transition to Canvas, a new learning management system, which launched in April 2021. Canvas provides learners with an updated, easy, and user-friendly interface to complete courses. Additionally, CalSouthern has implemented a Colleague Self-Service platform for learners to register for courses, create and view degree plans, adjust course dates as needed, and make payments.
CalSouthern remains focused on our mission of supporting learners and providing a quality learner experience. We aspire to provide the most up-to-date technological systems as we search for resources that will smooth the path to learning at CalSouthern.
Accreditation Re-affirmation
CalSouthern is going through the process of re-affirming our accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), one of the most respected and recognized accrediting bodies in the United States. We had our first visit with WSCUC representatives in early May of 2021 and we feel confident that our accomplishments over the past year have shown our dedication to academic excellence.
The University realizes the benefits of receiving and maintaining accreditation for the entire CalSouthern community. We also recognize the benefits of the accreditation process for our University; benefits such as continuous institutional improvement, mission fulfillment, sustaining effective educational programs and service to our learners. From core staff to our Board of Directors, the University is committed to doing what is necessary to reflect the institutional embodiment of the accreditation standards.
The process of continual institutional improvement is an integral part of any re-affirmation activity and the University received several commendations in addition to the action items that were addressed during our spring visit. One of those commendations given to us by the visiting team is our “diverse, passionate, and student-centric staff, faculty, and board.”
This commitment to being learner-centric is what drives us to maintain open communication surrounding our re-affirmation efforts and to continually strive for excellence in all aspects of University operations. We believe that our approach will lead to a positive outcome of the spring visit and we look forward to sharing and celebrating our progress with the entire University community.
2021 Virtual Commencement
The California Southern University 2021 Virtual Commencement Ceremony has officially been set for Friday, August 6, 2021, at 12:00 p.m. PST. We welcome you and your family and friends to celebrate virtually the successes, hard work, and achievements of our CalSouthern graduates. The 2021 Virtual Commencement Ceremony will be a pre-recorded video recognizing our graduates with positive messages and words of wisdom for the future. We hope you’ll join us.
Sincerely,