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CoBA Expands Reach in Temecula and the South Bay
New Partnership Enhances Access to Education
Early in his tenure as Dean of CoBA, Ronald Ramirez launched a listening tour of regional community colleges. His goal was to better understand the educational needs of community college students and to learn why they were choosing CSUSM and CoBA for their business education. These insights would help CoBA develop innovative ways to better serve students across the region and extend its reach to those who would thrive in the college’s programs and learning environment. Also, by increasing awareness and creating clear pathways to CoBA, prospective students can make a more informed choice for their business education. Choosing a better fitting program enables a better chance of college success right from the start.
In 2023, Dean Ramirez reached out to Mink Stavenga, the Dean of Business at Southwestern college in Chula Vista, CA. After an introductory call, the two met to explore ways to increase the transfer opportunities of Southwestern students to CSUSM, especially to CoBA’s business program. It was during this and subsequent discussions where Dean Ramirez learned of Southwestern’s University Center initiative to bring 4-year degree programs onto Southwestern in a shared campus model. The concept aligned with CoBA’s innovation mindset and sounded like a great opportunity for all involved. As important, the South Bay area of San Diego is an area of population growth with a community in need of local 4-year higher education programs.
Two years later, the administrations of CSUSM and Southwestern college have worked to expand this initial conversation into a robust partnership, across multiple CSUSM colleges and programs, announced in May 2025. The partnership calls for CSUSM to offer bachelor's degree programs directly on the Southwestern Chula Vista campus starting in Fall 2026, including business administration.
Offering the undergraduate business degree through the Southwestern College partnership follows on CoBA’s recent expansion in Temecula as part of a Riverside County ARPA grant award supporting the expansion of CSUSM’s Temecula Valley campus. As a first step, CoBA recently completed a proof-of-concept pilot, holding stateside BSBA core courses on the Temecula Mt. San Jacinto College campus in the Spring 2025 semester. Student response in the area was so positive, CoBA expanded stateside BSBA courses held in Temecula in Summer 2025.
The Temecula and Chula Vista area partnerships share the common goal of providing local access to in-demand 4-year educational programs like CoBA’s business degree. Doing so reduces the need for students to commute long distances for their education and enables them to more easily work in local jobs to pay for their education. This fit of place and need provides students with a better chance of education success, a central tenet of CoBA’s mission. As important, just over 80% of CoBA students, like CSUSM students, stay in the region after graduation, helping to build the workforce and economies of our local communities. The Southwestern College and Temecula expansions are yet another example of CoBA’s innovativeness and a willingness of the college to be a leader in helping local communities. A philosophy that is paying dividends for all.