As the 2026–27 academic year begins, College of San Mateo is expanding academic pathways, welcoming new faculty, and building on some of its strongest student success indicators in five years.
As College of San Mateo begins the 2026–27 academic year, the College enters the fall semester with new academic pathways, new faculty expertise, and encouraging momentum in enrollment and student success.
Together, these developments reflect a broader commitment at CSM: making liberatory education tangible in students’ everyday experiences. That means creating more ways for students to enter and navigate higher education, bringing faculty into the classroom who can challenge and support them, and continually examining whether students are succeeding once they arrive.
This fall, progress can be seen across all three.
New Academic Pathways
CSM begins the academic year with two new programs: the Certificate of Achievement in Proficiency in English for Academic and Career Success (PEACS) and the Associate in Science in Allied Health.
PEACS gives students developing their English-language skills a recognized academic credential while supporting their academic and career goals. The new Allied Health degree expands CSM’s degree offerings for students pursuing health-related education.
More may be on the way. The Office of Instruction reports that several additional programs are awaiting state approval and could be activated during the 2026–27 academic year, with a catalog addendum anticipated in early 2027.
Expanding the curriculum is about more than adding programs to a catalog. Each new pathway can create another point of entry for students, recognize skills and learning with a meaningful credential, or connect education more directly with transfer, career, and personal goals.
Welcoming New Faculty
CSM New Faculty Orientation
CSM is also welcoming two new faculty members to the campus community this year: Brianna Cox, Film and Media Studies Instructor, and Ashley Munteanu, Nursing Instructor.
Cox and Munteanu were welcomed during New Faculty Orientation as they began their first academic year at CSM, connecting them with the campus community and the work ahead.
Their disciplines also reflect the breadth of a CSM education, from film, media, and critical storytelling to preparing students for careers in health care. New faculty bring more than subject expertise to the College. They bring new perspectives, relationships, and approaches to teaching that help shape how students experience the classroom and see what is possible for themselves.
Five-Year Highs in Student Momentum
CSM begins the fall semester from a position of growing strength.
Data shared during CSM Opening Day showed that the College’s 70.5% course fill rate is its highest in five years, with a reported 9.7% increase. The course success rate has reached 75.8%, also the highest in five years and a 2.6% increase.
Degree attainment has grown even more significantly. During the 2025–26 academic year, CSM awarded 1,144 associate degrees, the highest total in five years, and a reported 26.1% increase.
No single number tells the story of a college or its students. Taken together, however, these measures point to stronger demand for CSM courses, higher levels of successful course completion, and more students reaching a major educational milestone.
For Dr. Lauren Servais, who begins her first year as CSM’s Vice President of Instruction, the opportunity is to build on that momentum while keeping equity, opportunity, and students’ goals at the center of the work.
“Beginning my first year at CSM at a moment of such momentum is energizing. New pathways, new faculty, and stronger student outcomes are all connected to the same responsibility: creating the conditions for every student to belong, learn, and move toward the future they choose. I am excited to join this community, learn from the work already underway, and build on it together,” shared Dr. Servais.
The work will continue beyond the beginning of the fall semester. As additional programs move through the approval process, CSM will continue to examine how its academic offerings can respond to students’ goals, community needs, and evolving transfer and career opportunities. That is where liberatory education becomes concrete: not simply in offering access, but in creating meaningful choices, supporting students as they navigate them, and ensuring more students have the opportunity to turn that access into achievement.
As Fall 2026 begins, CSM has new people, new pathways, and growing momentum to build upon.
