View a photo essay from Super Sunday L isten to an NPR report here

Super Sunday encourages more students to enroll

CSU Monterey Bay President Eduardo Ochoa and Provost Kathy Cruz-Uribe will be featured speakers at predominantly black churches to spread the word about the importance of going to college.

On Feb. 17, President Ochoa will address the congregation at Greater Victory Temple at 11:05 a.m. The previous day, Dr. Ronnie Higgs, vice president for Student Affairs, will visit the Seaside Community Seventh-Day Adventist church for a 10:50 a.m. presentation.

They will discuss the importance of getting a college degree for today’s competitive job market, when to start planning for college, programs offered at CSUMB, financial aid and parent involvement.

Following the services, staff members from CSUMB and church education advisers will provide information on the application and admission process, including virtual tours through CSUmentor, the website that helps students apply for college.

One of the publications to be distributed during the visits is the “How to Get to College” poster, which provides middle and high school students and their parents with step-by-step information on the path to college. Members of each congregation also will hear about the CSU’s Early Assessment Program, a program enabling 11th graders to gauge their college readiness in English and math long before applying to the CSU.

As the CSU system's outreach has grown, CSU staff members and church education liaisons have continued meeting to further develop ways to communicate with the African American community. Financial aid workshops, distribution of college materials to sixth through 12th-grade students and their parents, and the development of a how-to-guide for church educational advisers who work directly with families are among the programs that have been implemented.

CSU Chancellor Timothy White will participate in this year’s Super Sunday events when he visits a church in Bakersfield on Feb. 17. His visit is one of 100 Super Sunday visits organized by the CSU at predominantly African American churches all over the state.

Now in its seventh year, Super Sunday is part of an educational outreach led by the CSU African American Initiative – a partnership with churches – to increase college preparation, student enrollment and graduation rates among African American students.

For more information, contact CSUMB’s Office of Admissions at 582-3738.