The California State University Office of the Chancellor announced today that 17 of its 23 campuses have earned Integrated Program Grants from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to develop four-year teacher preparation programs. The grants are designed to help ease California’s burgeoning K-12 teacher shortage with a special focus on expanding the number of teacher candidates earning STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and bilingual credentials—the two most critical areas of need for teachers in California. The CSU is the state’s largest producer of teacher candidates and leads the nation in preparing STEM teachers.

The CSU secured the majority of the Integrated Program Grants with several campuses—including Fresno, Monterey Bay, San Diego and San Francisco—earning multiple grants. All told, CSU campuses garnered $5.19 million of the $8 million in grant funding awarded. The request for proposals for a second round of funding will be available in January 2017. Campuses that have already earned the initial planning grants will be eligible to apply.

“As a statewide innovator in teacher preparation, the CSU is uniquely poised to offer these new four-year blended teacher training programs. California’s children and youth deserve highly-qualified teachers committed to student success and the Integrated Program Grants will enable the university to nearly triple the number of new teachers graduating annually with STEM, Special Education and bilingual credentials,” explained Marquita Grenot-Scheyer, assistant vice chancellor of Teacher Education Program and Public School Programs.

“The new format not only increases the number of teacher candidates graduating annually but also provides monetary benefits to CSU students. CSU teacher candidates will save, on average, about $20,000 by eliminating the cost of an additional year of tuition, college-related expenses and textbooks. In addition, to incentivize more students to enter the teaching profession, teacher candidates will also be eligible for $16,000 in state and federal grants. There’s never been a better time to enter the profession given these new flexible credentialing options and financial incentives,” Grenot-Scheyer added.

Currently, seven CSU campuses—Bakersfield, Chico, Fresno, Long Beach, Monterey Bay, Northridge and San Marcos—offer four-year teacher preparation programs. With the Integrated Program Grants, 16 additional campuses will establish four-year credentialing programs. Monterey Bay, which already offers a four-year credentialing program, will add bilingual and Special Education credentialing options. The new four-year programs will begin admitting students in fall 2018 for the 2018-19 academic year.

CSU campus grant recipients include:

· CSU Bakersfield $ 250,000

· Channel Islands $ 248,515

· Chico $ 199,108

· Dominquez Hills $ 227,262

· Fresno $ 498,266 (two grants)

· Fullerton $ 240,648

· Humboldt $ 195,103

· Long Beach $ 249,999

· Los Angeles $ 250,000

· Monterey Bay $ 500,000 (two grants)

· Pomona $ 246,322

· Sacramento $ 248,806

· San Diego $ 749,576 (three grants)

· San Francisco $ 395,387 (two grants)

· San Marcos $ 249,978

· Sonoma $ 199,728

· Stanislaus $ 240,127

TOTAL $5,188,825

The CSU’s teacher preparation program is the largest in the state and nation awarding 6,500 California Teaching Credentials annually. The university also leads the nation in graduating the largest number of STEM teachers. Through grants provided by the federal Teacher Quality Partnership, the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Chevron Corporation, to name a few, the CSU provides rigorous coursework, professional growth opportunities and clinical experiences that equip K-12 teachers with the skills and knowledge to engage their students in meaningful college and career readiness coursework rooted in California’s high curriculum standards.