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Accreditation

Mission and Goals
of San Diego State University

San Diego State University was founded on March 13, 1897 for the training of elementary school teachers. The seven faculty and ninety-one students of the then Normal School's first class met on November 1, 1898 in temporary quarters downtown while the first unit of the main building of the campus was under construction at Park Boulevard where El Cajon Boulevard begins.

The curriculum was limited at first to English, history, and mathematics, but it broadened rapidly under the leadership of Samuel T. Black, who left the position of State Superintendent of Public Instruction to become the first President (1898-1910).

Under the vigorous administration of the second president, Edward L. Hardy (1910-1935), the School was reorganized as a four-year State Teachers' College in 1921, and control was transferred from a local board of trustees to the State Board of Education. In the same year, the two-year San Diego Junior College, the antecedent institution to the present Community Colleges, was incorporated as a branch of San Diego State, where it remained through 1946.

It became clear early that the only collegiate institution in San Diego would soon outgrow its 17-acre site, and a campaign was begun in the 1920s to build a new campus. The Legislature agreed, provided the city furnish a new site and buy the old one. In 1928 the present campus, on what was then the far eastern border of the city, was approved by the electorate.

In February 1931, the college moved to the seven mission-style buildings of the present campus, surrounding what is still called the Main Quad. In 1935, the Legislature removed the word "Teachers" from the name of the institution and authorized the expansion of degree programs into areas other than teacher preparation. In the same year, Walter R. Hepner (1935-1952) was appointed president, and the institution entered a period of slow growth and then, with the coming of war, of contraction. At the end of World War II, enrollment had fallen to 1,918.

In the next quarter century, under Dr. Hepner and subsequently under Malcolm A. Love (1952-1971), enrollments increased phenomenally to over 25,000 students. In 1960, the College became a part of the newly created California State College system, under a statewide Board of Trustees and a Chancellor. In 1971, recognizing that the institution had in fact achieved the status of a university, the Legislature renamed the system The California State University and Colleges, and shortly afterward renamed this institution San Diego State University.

Acting President Donald E. Walker (1971-1972), President Brage Golding (1972-1977), Acting President Trevor Colbourn (1977-1978), and President Thomas B. Day (1978-1996) were followed by the seventh President Stephen L. Weber (1996-).

Today, San Diego State University is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a Doctoral University II. With over 28,000 students it is one of the largest universities in the western United States.

SDSU is a teaching university with strong research programs. Research and scholarship strengthen the instruction SDSU students receive in the classroom and laboratory. SDSU's faculty conducts more than $65 million in funded research each year. These projects provide unusual opportunities for students who can work alongside faculty using the latest equipment. The excitement of discovery spreads to the classroom, creating a unique learning experience.

Accommodation for students is furnished in new and continually improved physical facilities. The campus currently encompasses over 5.3 million square feet in academic and other support facilities. Included are the award winning Aztec Center, the first student union building in the CSU system; the Dramatic Arts building containing the Don Powell Theater, one of the finest in the nation; the Music building with its Smith Recital Hall; and the newly renovated and improved Malcolm A. Love Library containing over one million volumes in 520,000 square feet, the largest library in the CSU system. Student Health Services, Art and Humanities classroom buildings as well as modern residence halls and parking facilities for 12,500 cars have been added to complement the campus infrastructure and original historic structures, Hepner Hall, Little Theater, Hardy Tower, Speech and Telecommunications, and Exercise and Nutritional Sciences buildings which were renovated during the 70's and 80's.

Several recent construction projects have enhanced the service to students by consolidating all student needs in a new complex of Student Service facilities with a prominent clock tower as its focal point. A major addition to the library with its domed entry complements these facilities and with its newly landscaped grounds creates a park-like atmosphere at the core of the campus. In the past five years a new Gateway Center was constructed to house the campus public television station, KPBS and the College of Extended Studies. An International Student Center and Aztec football complex were also added in the early 90's.

The 12,000 seat Cox Arena, the Aztec Recreation Center, and the 3,000 seat Tony Gwynn Baseball Stadium were completed in 1997, bringing basketball and events to the campus and increased recreational opportunities to students. A complete renovation to the main food service facility, East Commons, provides new and improved dining opportunities to the campus. A major science laboratory building for chemistry and geological sciences is under construction.

The University now offers bachelor's degrees in 74 areas, the master's in 55, and the doctorate in 10.

There are five multidisciplinary honor societies on campus that help to reinforce the high academic standards of the campus. They include Golden Key, Mortar Board, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma, and Phi Kappa Phi. In addition, there are a number of disciplinary honor societies that recognize superior scholarship and leadership in specific academic fields.

Mission and Goals
of San Diego State University

The mission of San Diego State University is to provide well-balanced, high quality education for undergraduate and graduate students and to contribute to knowledge and the solution of problems through excellence and distinction in teaching, research, and service.

San Diego State University provides an environment that encourages the intellectual development of students. Its undergraduate and graduate programs in the liberal arts and sciences are designed to help students learn about themselves, their cultural and social heritage, and their physical environment. Additionally, students are challenged to understand how advances in these areas may influence their present lives and their futures. Professional programs, while including many of these broad goals, are designed to meet the needs of the students who seek specific employment in many diverse fields. The University is concerned with developing leaders in cultural, economic, educational, scientific, social, and technical fields.

Closely related to the teaching mission of the University is student and faculty research. Involvement in research ensures that both students and faculty maintain currency in their disciplines and fosters the advancement of knowledge. Graduate study at San Diego State University at the master's and doctoral levels emphasizes creative scholarship, original research, and the development and utilization of research techniques.

Located in a large and ethnically diverse metropolitan center bordering Mexico and on the Pacific Rim, the University draws on the social, cultural, scientific, and technical resources of this region to enrich its teaching and research programs. Through its teaching, research, and service, the University is responsive primarily to the people of California as well as to the needs of the regional, national, and international communities it serves. The University also seeks cooperative programs with other institutions of higher education both in the United States and abroad.

Accreditation

San Diego State University is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, P.O. Box 9990, Mills College, Oakland, CA 94613-0990, (510) 632-5000. It is also approved to train veterans under the G.I. Bill.

San Diego State University's programmatic accreditation is through membership in the following associations:

Accrediting Commission on Education for Health Services Administration
1911 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 503
Arlington, VA 22209-1603
(703) 524-0511

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (Preventive Medicine Residency Program)
515 N. State Street, Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 464-4972

American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
One Dupont Circle, Suite 610
Washington, D.C. 20036-1186
(202) 293-2450

American Chemical Society
Committee on Professional Training
1155 Sixteenth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202) 872-4600

American College of Nurse Midwives
818 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 900
Washington, D.C. 20006
(202) 728-9896

American Council on Education in Journalism
and Mass Communication

University of Kansas
Stauffer-Flint Hall
Lawrence, KS 66045
(913) 864-3973

American Psychological Association
(Clinical Psychology)

750 First Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002-4242
(202) 336-5500

American Speech-Language-Hearing
Association, Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology

10801 Rockville Pike
Rockville, MD 20852
(301) 897-5700

California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
1812 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA 95814-7000
(916) 445-0184

Computing Sciences Accreditation Board
(Computer Science)

Two Landmark Square, Suite 209
Stamford, CT 06901
(203) 975-1117

Council of Graduate Schools
One Dupont Circle, N.W., Suite 430
Washington, D.C. 20036-1173
(202) 223-3791

Council on Education of the Deaf
405 White Hall
Kent State University
Kent, OH 44242-0001
(330) 672-2294

Council on Education for Public Health
1015 Fifteenth Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20005
(202) 789-1050

Council on Social Work Education
1600 Duke Street, Suite 300
Alexandria, VA 22314-3421
(703) 683-8080

Foundation for Interior Design Education Research
60 Monroe Center N.W., Suite 300
Grand Rapids, MI 49503-2920
(616) 458-0400

National Association of School Psychologists
4340 East West Highway, Suite 402
Bethesda, MD 20814
(301) 657-0280

National Association of Schools of Art and Design
11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21
Reston, VA 20190
(703) 437-0700

National Association of Schools of Music
11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21
Reston, VA 20190
(703) 437-0700

National Association of Schools of Public Affairs
and Administration

1120 G Street, N.W., Suite 730
Washington, D.C. 20005-3801
(202) 628-8965

National Association of Schools of Theatre
11250 Roger Bacon Drive, Suite 21
Reston, VA 20190
(703) 437-0700

National Council for Accreditation of Teacher
Education (San Diego campus)

2010 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20036-1023
(202) 466-7496

National Council on Rehabilitation Education
c/o Dr. Garth Eldredge, Administrative Secretary
Utah State University

Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation
2870 University Boulevard
Logan, Utah 84322-2870

National League for Nursing
350 Hudson Street
New York, N.Y. 10014
(212) 989-9393, Extension 205

National Recreation and Parks Association
22377 Belmont Ridge Road
Ashburn, VA 20148
(703) 858-0784

Western Association of Graduate Schools
University of Washington, The Graduate School
Box 351240
Seattle, WA 98195-1240
(206) 543-9054

In addition, San Diego State University is accredited by the following agencies:

The College of Business Administration and the School of Accountancy are accredited by the AACSB-International Association for Management Education, 600 Emerson Road, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63141-6762, (314) 872-8481, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The M.S. in Financial and Tax Planning and the Certificate in Personal Financial Planning are registered with the International Board of Certified Financial Planners, 1700 Broadway, Suite 2100, Denver, CO 80290-2101, (303) 830-7500.

The College of Engineering undergraduate programs in aerospace, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202, (410) 347-7700.

The School of Nursing is accredited by the California Board of Registered Nursing, State of California, Department of Consumer Affairs, 400 R Street., Suite 4030, Sacramento, CA 95814, (916) 322-3350.

Concentrations in Environmental Health and Occupational Health in the Graduate School of Public Health are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., 111 Market Place, Suite 1050, Baltimore, MD 21202, (410) 347-7700.

The Didactic Program in Dietetics and the Preprofessional Practice Program in Dietetics in the Department of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences are approved by the American Dietetic Association, P.O. Box 97215, Chicago, IL 60678-7215, (312) 899-0040.

San Diego State University maintains and promotes a policy of nondiscrimination and nonharassment on the basis of race, religion, color, age, gender, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, and national origin.
The Office of Equity and Diversity is a University effort affecting every level of activity. The policy stands as a statement of this University's moral commitment to the right of all persons to equal opportunity in a nondiscriminating, harassment-free atmosphere.
San Diego State University places high priority on that objective and expects all members of the University to support this policy fully.
Refer to the Regulations of the Graduate Division section for the California State University policy pertaining to nondiscrimination.



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