What is S4?
Cal State S4 is a web-based system for online tracking of student academic placements within their community and is supported by the Center for Community Engagement (CCE) in the California State University, Office of the Chancellor. Cal State S4 functions as a consortium of multiple CSU campus programs, working together to achieve common needs. The consortium model encourages the sharing of best practices between CSU campuses and promotes a culture of continuous improvement.
The Purpose of Cal State S4
Cal State S4 is designed to:
- Manage risk concerns and requirements associated with off-campus academic placements, and specifically outlined in Executive Orders;
- Collect reliable and accurate data from CSU campuses about community engagement activities and other High Impact Practices (HIPs);
- Collate and analyze HIPs data from CSU campuses to better understand the impact on student success, graduation and retention rates; and
- Maintain a balanced project budget while keeping costs as low as possible to CSU campuses.
History
S4's earliest iterations were created made by the Web Services team in Information Technology at Cal State Monterey Bay. From those initial attempts, the Chancellor's Office CSU-wide Center for Community Engagement saw the S4 project as something that could become a "Made by the CSU, for the CSU" application, helping campuses fulfill Executive Orders 1062 and 1064. We now have 19 CSU campuses with over 30 campus programs utilizing the system, with new programs being added monthly.
Stats
| 2015–2016 | 2016–2017 | Other Stats from 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| 17 campuses committed 9 live or live piloting 8 piloting or in development |
19 campuses committed 13 live or live piloting 6 piloting or in development |
Over 17,000 placements captured Over 8,000 courses tracked 6,400 active partner sites |
| Program types using S4 Service Learning Academic Internships Health/Human Services |
Program types added in 2016 Field Trips Social Work Community Service |
Program type requests International Placements Education Placements Non-academic Internships |
Accessibility
Cal State S4 strives to be accessible to all users. Here's our Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT).