Delivering Results

UC San Diego aspires to be a student-centered, research-focused, service-oriented, public research university. To achieve this vision, and our goal of being a destination for education, art, culture and healthcare, the campus community is pursuing excellence through profound transformations:

Intellectual transformation through a focus on scholarly, pedagogical, artistic and medical initiatives that draw a diversity of disciplines and approaches
Physical transformation that can support a growing, and increasingly diverse student cohort
Cultural transformation through pursuit of bold ideas that reinforce the spirit of our campus' development, forging ahead to make new discoveries and connect more cohesively with our local community and beyond

Below, we describe some of the ways our campus, through the leadership of Academic Affairs, is achieving this redefinition of the public research university.

Increase in Overall Enrollment

UC San Diego has increased student enrollment by more than 10,000 undergraduate students and more than 3,000 graduate students since 2012. This represents a tremendous increase in access to public higher education at a top research university.

Undergraduate

Graduate

Positive Upward Trend in Graduation Rates

Such growth in overall numbers is most impactful if graduation rates also rise UC San Diego has steadily increased graduation rates for all student demographics over the last decade and equity gaps are closing.

This shows an increase in overall graduation rates for freshman and transfer students.

Expanded Diversity of Newly Enrolled Student Cohorts

It is noteworthy that as UC San Diego's enrollment has increased, the diversity of the student body has grown at an even faster rate.

This shows student diversity increases at UC San Diego

Increase in Faculty Numbers and Diversity

Through targeted investment in interdisciplinary recruitments and cluster hires, UC San Diego has increased the number of Senate faculty significantly as the student body has grown. Importantly, the diversity of the faculty and the breadth of the perspectives they can offer students have grown faster than the overall increase in numbers.

This shows faculty diversity growth at UC San Diego

Improved Student Opinion of UC San Diego Experience

Improving students’ sense of belonging and making UC San Diego a student-ready campus are key priorities for the university. Our rising scores in the University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey data show that our collective efforts are having an impact.

This shows increases undergraduate perceptions of the diversity and feeling a sense of belonging at UC San Diego

Growth in Number of Students Utilizing the Teaching + Learning Commons

There has been a rapid increase in demand for student-facing services at the Teaching + Learning Commons. The Commons saw a 240% increase in the student use between 2019 and 2022, and a 56% increase in the unique students served. The Teaching + Learning Commons now serves 32% of students on campus.

Impact of Teaching + Learning Commons on Student Performance

Recent data shows that students making regular use of the Supplemental Instruction program in The Commons have greater academic success, especially in challenging entry-level courses. Notably, while all students benefit, the impact is greatest for Hispanic/Latinx students and First-Generation college students; this demonstrates that Supplemental Instruction assists in closing equity gaps.

This chart shows the decrease in DFW rates decreasing for students for the more supplemental instruction sessions they attend.

This chart shows the effectiveness of participation in Supplemental Instruction for all students, particularly first-generation or underrepresented students. t

Engagement of the Teaching + Learning Commons with Faculty

The Teaching + Learning Commons now regularly works with hundreds of faculty each year, advancing teaching excellence through helping instructors improve their evidence-based, learner-centered, and equitable teaching practices.

This graphic shows the amount of faculty usage of Teaching + Learning Commons activities.

Growth in Participants in Summer Bridge

Providing opportunities for all students to feel supported and prepared for their academic experience at UC San Diego is a critical piece of our overall strategy to reduce equity gaps. Summer Bridge welcomes all incoming first-year students, but prioritizes students who are first-generation or from underserved backgrounds. The five-week, student-centered program promotes a smooth and successful transition from high school to university through selected courses and highly-personalized connections and resources that continue through the academic year. Starting in 2021, a Collective Impact approach was employed, significantly increasing the overall enrollment in Summer Bridge, with an extremely high level of these students persisting at the university after the program's summer component.

Summer Bridge Academic Performance

Students who attended Summer Bridge in Summer 2021, whether in person or remotely, saw similar academic success, both in their overall GPA, as well as the number of academic units they successfully completed in the three quarters after attendance. This confirms the support program's structure and content is similarly impactful whether delivered in-person or remotely.

Charts showing parity between student academic success whether they attended Summer Bridge online or in person.

Summer Session Enrollment Growth

One of the ways to support academic success and reduce time to graduation is to increase participation in summer session. In the last few years, we observed that offering online courses during summer session dramatically increased summer enrollments, a trend that has continued post-pandemic. Academic Affairs is working with departments, colleges, and the Academic Senate to ensure that high-quality distance education options continue to be available to support students in the summer.