SDSU Renews Compact for Success Program with Sweetwater Union High School District
The renewal extends the partnership through 2030 with the goal of increasing the number of Sweetwater Union High School students who enroll and graduate from SDSU.
San Diego State University and the Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) have renewed the Compact for Success, expanding and enhancing educational opportunities for students living in the South Bay.
The renewal will extend the partnership through 2030 with the broad goal of increasing the number of students from the SUHSD who enroll and graduate from SDSU by guaranteeing admission, deepening student engagement and promoting higher graduation rates. This will be accomplished by strengthening educational outreach to the South Bay community regarding college-readiness preparation, reducing equity gaps, adding career-counseling programming, and providing students with multiple pathways to an SDSU education.
“The South Bay community is essential to the high-impact mission of SDSU,” said SDSU President Adela de la Torre. “Sweetwater is right in the middle and is core to preparing thousands of local students for college. With this compact extension, there is a shared commitment to ensure these students have a strong pathway to success at SDSU, and that we then launch them into careers that are transformative for their futures and their communities.”
Established in 2000, Compact for Success was developed to show students the path to attending a college or university and to provide the necessary support to ensure admission into and success at SDSU. In the program, SUHSD teachers work with SDSU faculty to design a school curriculum that aligns with the a-g requirements for California State University college admission.
“The Sweetwater District is honored to celebrate the renewal of the Compact for Success with San Diego State University,” said SUHSD Superintendent Moises Aguirre. “For over 20 years this agreement has been a pathway for thousands of students in Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach, and South San Diego to access higher education through SDSU.
“Sweetwater looks forward to continuing this collaboration through the year 2030 and beyond so that our students can continue to strive to achieve their educational goals at SDSU.”
The Compact for Success serves SUHSD’s 28 schools that are educating more than 38,000 students at any one time. Since 2006, 7,574 students have entered SDSU via the Compact – a large majority from underrepresented minority populations and more than half becoming the first in their families to obtain a bachelor’s degree.
The Compact for Success department also collaborates with school and district personnel to provide outreach and education to students and parents in the district through mentoring, workshops, assemblies, and campus visits.
“The Compact for Success is a vital pathway for students from the South Bay and our community for access to higher education,” said State Assemblymember David Alvarez. “I am excited that this agreement has been renewed and would like to thank President de la Torre and the Sweetwater Union High School District for this important partnership."
Compact for Success is just one of a number of partnerships between SDSU and the South Bay community including support of a flagship COVID-19 testing program amid the pandemic and the recent announcement that Chula Vista will be home to SDSU’s new state-of-the-art Television, Film and New Media Studios.
“We are committed to Chula Vista and the South Bay,” said de la Torre. “The local border region represents a critical inflection point for our transborder university, bringing together student access with economic development and binational collaboration.”
