Economic Impact

CSU Channel Islands is the first four-year public university in Ventura County and the newest of the CSU campuses. The university emphasizes learning within and across disciplines through integrated approaches and community service. CSU Channel Islands’ academic program incorporates input from the community, including local business leaders, students and parents. The university is committed to working in public/private partnerships to improve the quality of life throughout the region.

High Magnitude Economic Impact

CSU Channel Islands’ annual impact on the Central Coast region is significant*:

• Annual spending related to CSU Channel Islands in the Central Coast region ($58 million) generates a total impact of more than $107 million on the regional economy.
• This impact sustains 2,100 jobs in the region, and generates nearly $5.4 million per year in tax revenue.
• The state appropriation for CSU, Channel Islands is approximately $35 million. Therefore, for every $1 that the state invests in CSUCI, the economy of the Central Coast region is currently enhanced by $3.05, an economic multiplier that will grow as the campus grows.

CSU Channel Islands improves California’s economy with research, education, and an entrepreneurial spirit.

• It is estimated that a significant portion of CSU Channel Islands’ infrastructure costs will be paid for by the CSU Channel Islands Site Authority.
• The CSU Channel Islands Business & Technology Partnership helps foster the collaboration of technology and related service-based companies with the university through internship programs, scholarships and events on a variety of topics. The partnership is a committee of the CSU Channel Islands Foundation that supports research development.
• In response to the emerging biotechnology industry, CSU Channel Islands will offer a new Master of Science in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics program, with local companies’ employees serving as curriculum advisors, teachers and members of an advisory board. The program will provide area biotech firms with skilled employees as well as offer classes and training to their current workforce.
• CSU Channel Islands’ Small Business Institute program offers business students the opportunity to partner with local entrepreneurs and apply their classroom learning directly by creating business plans, market assessments, demographic information and marketing assistance to new business start-ups. The campus is strengthening small business success throughout Ventura County.

CSU Channel Islands improves life in the Central Coast region through community service, arts, culture, and student engagement.

• University Glen is a 900-unit housing development being built on the east end of the CSU Channel Islands campus. The first two phases of 358 units have opened for occupancy, and construction of the third phase of 302 units is nearing completion. Revenue from the project will pay for construction and renovation of academic buildings on campus, and serves as a tool for recruiting faculty and staff in Ventura County where housing is expensive and scarce. The 150-acre parcel also will include a site for a future elementary school, green space, and bicycle and pedestrian paths and trails.
• CSU Channel Islands is committed to maintaining a “green campus,” implementing environmentally aware programs to preserve its beautiful surroundings. Recycling is emphasized, alternative power sources are being developed, and the campus facilities staff utilizes no-emission electric vehicles.
• The university offers a variety of extracurricular activities and recreational programs.

A University for All Californians—

• CSU Channel Islands will become one of the largest employers in the region, and was recently honored by Work Training Programs, Inc., a Southern California human services agency, for hiring employees with disabilities and economic disadvantages.

“On average it holds true that income increases $10,000 per year for every degree a person earns over a lifetime. So the increased number of degrees that Ventura County residents will hold as a result of the university (CSUCI) should help spur the economy and brighten the economic future for the whole county. That’s a heck of a return on our investment in this university and in our future.”
Charles Weis • Ventura County Superintendent of Schools

www.calstate.edu/impact