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Home My WebLink About2018/01/23 - Item 6 Written Communications1 Kerry Bigelow From:Leticia Cazares Sent:Tuesday, December 19, 2017 11:59 AM To:Mary Salas; Patricia Aguilar; Steve C. Padilla; John McCann; Mike Diaz Cc:Kerry Bigelow; Norma Cazares; Leticia Cazares Subject:Comments re: Item 16 (ENA w/ St. Katherine) Attachments:University St Katherine-v2.docx Dear Mayor & Councilmembers, I wish to provide my comments regarding Item 16 (Exclusive Negotiating Agreement w/ St. Katherine) on today's council meeting agenda. A few weeks ago I attended the joint Taskforce between The City and Southwestern College. As with most of us in the room, I was encouraged to learn about the potential partnerships with public and private nonprofit colleges. I am in complete support of the City having discussions with all prospects; however, I urge the City to conduct thorough research and vetting with all before entering into an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement. I understand that this a 90-day agreement and that the City an solicit on the remaining property; however, I still think that this limits the City from being proactive and potentially lose out on better proposals. As a researcher, I decided to read through their website and analyze any data I could find. What I did find raised some red flags for me and therefore, I urge the Council to vote NO on this item and instead look at other options to continue discussions with St. Katherine. My analysis and comments are below (and in attached document). Thank you for the opportunity to provide my comments. I look forward to working with you on manifesting Chula Vista's dream of having viable four-year institutions! Regards, Leticia Cazares Analysis Based on the following research findings, there is not a strong justification for entering into an ENA and limiting the City’s ability to find other more promising opportunities: • School data and reports are not clear (in some cases inconsistent) and do not provide comprehensive recent student success data including retention/graduation rates. https://usk.edu/office-of-institutional-research-effectiveness/ • Of the reports found, most troubling, is the Graduation & Completion Rates 2011-2015 report, showing that the retention rate dropped from 71% in Fall 11-12 to 46% in Fall 14-15. The justification does not thoroughly or clearly explain the significant decrease. Report is here: http://usk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GRADUATION-AND-COMPLETION-RATES.pdf Item 16 -- Written Communications 2 • The student enrollment over six years as reported by USK showing 20 to 200 does not provide confidence that the school will be successful in meeting the needs of the South County community or reaching USK’s vision of 1,000 students, especially given the high tuition and lack of clear, relevant academic success data. • The tuition of $20,500 when compared to SDSU tuition of $7,460 or UCSD $14,050 is unaffordable for most local students – Cal Grants are not yet available and even if they will be, will not be sufficient and could result in debt burden. In fact, debt data after graduation was not found. • USK proposes to provide 400 dorm rooms/beds (increases revenues). Since local area students do not utilize dorms it is apparent there will be a recruitment effort of out-of-area students to fill these rooms. So how then does this help our local students? Item 16 -- Written Communications City of Chula Vista and University of St. Katherine Exclusive Negotiating Agreement Analysis Background Recently, the City of Chula Vista was approached by the University of Saint Katherine (Saint Katherine) which is currently located in San Marcos, to establish a permanent undergraduate college on a portion of the University Innovation District located in East Chula Vista. The proposed Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) will allow the City to review the financial capacity of Saint Katherine to construct, expand and maintain an institution of higher education. About the University of St. Katherine (USK) Saint Katherine is a private nonprofit university that opened in 2011 in San Marcos with 20 students and now reportedly has close 200 full-time students. Accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) students may complete degree (BA/BS) programs in eleven concentrations, pre- professional studies (health sciences and graduate studies), and PK-12 teacher credentialing preparation. Tuition is $20,500. Financial aid options include FAFSA and Institutional Aid; however, USK is not yet approved to offer Cal Grant Programs. Development Agreement w/ University of St. Katherine The City proposes to enter into an EXLUSIVE Negotiating Agreement (ENA) with St. Katherine for an initial term of 90 days to negotiate the use of a 10-acre property near High Tech High in the UID. Key provision of the DA includes: The City agrees not to solicit alternative development proposals for the property or to negotiate with any other person or entity; however, the City does reserve the right to conduct a preliminary evaluation of unsolicited alternative proposals and can use evaluation to inform final agreements with St. Katherine. Analysis While the proposal is merely an agreement to discuss and negotiate with the USK, there is cause for concern that the agreement is EXCLUSIVE in that it prohibits the City from soliciting other options for the term of 90 days. Based on the following research findings, there is not a strong justification for entering into an ENA and limiting the City’s ability to find other more promising opportunities: • School data and reports are not clear (in some cases inconsistent) and do not provide comprehensive recent student success data including retention/graduation rates. • Of the reports found, most troubling, is the Graduation & Completion Rates 2011-2015 report, showing that the retention rate dropped from 71% in Fall 11-12 to 46% in Fall 14-15. The justification does not thoroughly or clearly explain the significant decrease. • The student enrollment over six years as reported by USK showing 20 to 200 does not provide confidence that the school will be successful in meeting the needs of the South County community or reaching USK’s vision of 1,000 students, especially given the high tuition and lack of clear, relevant academic success data. • The tuition of $20,500 when compared to SDSU tuition of $7,460 or UCSD $14,050 is unaffordable for most local students – Cal Grants are not yet available and even if they will be, will not be sufficient and could result in debt burden. In fact, debt data after graduation was not found. • USK proposes to provide 400 dorm rooms/beds (increases revenues). Since local area students do not utilize dorms it is apparent there will be a recruitment effort of out-of-area students to fill these rooms. So how then does this help our local students? Item 16 -- Written Communications 1 Kerry Bigelow From:Norma Cazares Sent:Tuesday, December 19, 2017 1:27 PM To:'Leticia Cazares'; Mary Salas; Patricia Aguilar; Steve C. Padilla; John McCann; Mike Diaz Cc:Kerry Bigelow Subject:RE: Comments re: Item 16 (ENA w/ St. Katherine) Thank you, Leticia. All, Please open the link below for information on the Cal-Grant financial assistance program that the majority of students rely on but has not been approved for USK at this time. http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=905 Norma Cazares (Retired Community College Counselor) From: Leticia Cazares [mailto Sent: Tuesday, December 19, 2017 11:59 AM To: Mary Salas <msalas@chulavistaca.gov>; Patricia Aguilar <paguilar@chulavistaca.gov>; Steve C. Padilla <spadilla@chulavistaca.gov>; John McCann <jmccann@chulavistaca.gov>; Mike Diaz <mdiaz@chulavistaca.gov> Cc: kbigelow@chulavistaca.gov; Norma Cazares < >; Leticia Cazares < > Subject: Comments re: Item 16 (ENA w/ St. Katherine) Dear Mayor & Councilmembers, I wish to provide my comments regarding Item 16 (Exclusive Negotiating Agreement w/ St. Katherine) on today's council meeting agenda. A few weeks ago I attended the joint Taskforce between The City and Southwestern College. As with most of us in the room, I was encouraged to learn about the potential partnerships with public and private nonprofit colleges. I am in complete support of the City having discussions with all prospects; however, I urge the City to conduct thorough research and vetting with all before entering into an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement. I understand that this a 90-day agreement and that the City an solicit on the remaining property; however, I still think that this limits the City from being proactive and potentially lose out on better proposals. As a researcher, I decided to read through their website and analyze any data I could find. What I did find raised some red flags for me and therefore, I urge the Council to vote NO on this item and instead look at other options to continue discussions with St. Katherine. My analysis and comments are below (and in attached document). Thank you for the opportunity to provide my comments. I look forward to working with you on manifesting Chula Vista's dream of having viable four-year institutions! Regards, Leticia Cazares Item 16 -- Written Communications 2 Analysis Based on the following research findings, there is not a strong justification for entering into an ENA and limiting the City’s ability to find other more promising opportunities: • School data and reports are not clear (in some cases inconsistent) and do not provide comprehensive recent student success data including retention/graduation rates. https://usk.edu/office-of-institutional-research-effectiveness/ • Of the reports found, most troubling, is the Graduation & Completion Rates 2011-2015 report, showing that the retention rate dropped from 71% in Fall 11-12 to 46% in Fall 14-15. The justification does not thoroughly or clearly explain the significant decrease. Report is here: http://usk.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/GRADUATION-AND-COMPLETION-RATES.pdf • The student enrollment over six years as reported by USK showing 20 to 200 does not provide confidence that the school will be successful in meeting the needs of the South County community or reaching USK’s vision of 1,000 students, especially given the high tuition and lack of clear, relevant academic success data. • The tuition of $20,500 when compared to SDSU tuition of $7,460 or UCSD $14,050 is unaffordable for most local students – Cal Grants are not yet available and even if they will be, will not be sufficient and could result in debt burden. In fact, debt data after graduation was not found. • USK proposes to provide 400 dorm rooms/beds (increases revenues). Since local area students do not utilize dorms it is apparent there will be a recruitment effort of out-of-area students to fill these rooms. So how then does this help our local students? Item 16 -- Written Communications