The Spartan Daily interviewed San José State President, Cynthia Teniente-Matson, on Friday to discuss three topics that are currently affecting students on campus. This interview was split into two parts. Part 1 was published in Tuesday’s edition and Part 2 will cover Teniente-Matson’s response to questions on student housing and financial aid.
Q: One of the more exciting things that’s happening is the Spartan Village on the Paseo. Could you tell me a little bit about it and tell me what students should be excited for?
A: We opened up 679 beds in that facility, and 124 of those — not just there, but across our inventory — are now available to be substantially discounted as affordable housing, which means it’s a subsidized housing allotment.
In working with financial aid, we were able to identify students who met the criterion to be eligible for the subsidized housing, which is significantly reduced.
Those beds are full, so we did a concerted outreach to make sure that students who needed or wanted housing who met this criteria could move in.
I feel very excited about it, and all the students that I’ve talked to are very excited about it as well. We have 5005 beds (at SJSU).
The only vacancy we have that we’ve intentionally taken out of inventory (is) for students who may face housing insecurity over the course of the semester to have access to temporary housing.
That program’s been in place for a couple years (and) it was in place before I arrived.
Q: I think we can all agree that only 30% of whatever you earn should go into housing. However, most of the housing available still — even with what’s available at the Paseo — could still be considered unaffordable at the moment. The majority of those rooms are between $1,800 to $1,300 per month to house two to four people and (for) most students, that would not be 30% of their earnings. Although I do understand it’s very nice to hear that (around) 120 of the beds are affordable, it would also be nice to hear if both the dorms in the housing at the Paseo could maybe perhaps be lower than $1,300. Is there any way the university has any other resources that can be provided to students to help them afford housing, especially after hearing recent news on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits and the tuition increase?
A: We are working — like we always have — with all students on their financial aid options through the Pell Grants, which is a federal program, through Cal Grant, which is a state program.
Many other scholarship programs are available for students.
We’re working harder to ensure students — especially those in need — are aware of scholarship opportunities that may exist for them to help meet their immediate needs.
For both housing, food and other basic needs, and to get the support that they need at SJSU Cares, as well as through other case management type of services to meet their longer term needs.
Q: Do you believe at the moment that the housing right now is affordable, especially with access to these resources?
A: I believe that housing is affordable with access to resources.
And for those students who are truly priced out of the market, what we’re trying to do is — like I mentioned, (the) 124 beds (that) we didn’t have that before — to grow that number even higher to provide more options for subsidized housing for other students.
We’re working towards that within our housing resources and other external agencies that may have funding available for our students.
So we’re looking at all community assets and community resources to help us do that.
(Michelle Smith McDonald, Senior Director of Media Relations): We have a little more than 5,005 beds (overall). So we’re 94% occupancy (overall). We have a small wait list for people who are looking for apartments. Spartan Village at the Paseo is at 96% occupancy so we’re nearly full.
Q: The CSU has confirmed the tuition increase, — it’s been around a year — and now that the pandemic has eased up a bit, and the university is trying to bring back that enrollment. I do want to see if there any resources for students to access certain grants, certain resources to help students afford not only housing on this campus, but tuition as well?
A: In terms of affordability, (SJSU is) affordable in comparison to all of the other national universities.
Similar to housing, we are working to provide more scholarship opportunities for students, ensuring that students know all the resources that are available to them.
I do think it’s confusing to understand all of the federal aid and the pathways to that, and this year in particular with the kerfuffle with FAFSA, that had nothing to do with us but the Department of Education.
We’re working hard to ensure we are not dropping students for lack of non-payment early.
We’re doing everything we can to bring more resources to our university for scholarships and for aid purposes, so that it is attainable for them to complete their college degree.
I think the other real issue is ensuring that students have the pathway and the ability to complete their courses within four years.
When you talk about cost, you want students to complete their degrees in four years.
Which means students should be looking to maximize the units that they can enroll in to graduate on a timely basis, and making sure that they understand the trade-offs when they take fewer credits.
We also are looking to provide more internship opportunities over the summer for students (such as) paid internships so students are earning good wages and getting their foot into a career pathway with employers.
Q: You mentioned students should try to complete all their coursework in four years, and try to maximize those credits. However, a lot of students are working part time so they can afford (to attend) this university. What’s your response to those students?
A: We have a lot more hybrid options and online options now for students that are available, and there’s jobs on campus where students can work and also take the courses that they need.
All of us support students’ schedules when they’re working on campus and also taking courses here.
Disclaimer: The Spartan Daily interviewed Teniente-Matson on Friday before Mari Fuentes-Martin, the vice president for Student Affairs, sent a campus wide email on Monday regarding the death of a student in Spartan Village at the Paseo.