Cuca Acosta
Santa Barbara,USA
Summary
20 years of experience in undergraduate admissions. Considered an expert in the field of UC admission across the state and throughout the US. Successfully created strategic plans, marketing tools, and training material which are used across the UC system.
Overview
22
22
years of professional experience
Work History
Interim Director, Admissions
University of California, Santa Barbara
07.2024 - Current
- Manage a team of 51 FTE which include Admissions, the Guardian Scholar Program, and systems personnel
- Running a 8-million-dollar budget which includes university and state funds, donor dollars, and grants
- Coordinate undergraduate enrollment (roughly 5,000-7,000 new students per year) for the University based on campus, system and state goals or mandates
- Coordinated outreach and recruitment in state, nationally and internationally
- Oversee admissions review, evaluation and selection of roughly 125,000 applications per year
Associate Director for School Services
University of California, Santa Barbara
03.2014 - 06.2024
- Direct supervision of three units; Freshman Outreach, Transfer Outreach (Including UC Transfer Prep programs), and the Visitor Center
- Manager a team of 16 FTE and almost 100 student workers
- Support diversity initiatives for campus enrollment, getting UCSB to HSI status in 2015
- Coordinate major events for the department and campus, including Open House which served an average of 10,000 campus visitors (mostly admitted students) and the Chancellor’s Receptions which were regional and included the three undergraduate colleges, student services, and the Chancellor
- Collaborated with UC system wide partners on shared events (i.e. Counselor Conferences), trainings, and presentations
- Coordinated communication plans for the Office of Admissions and at points campus, including social media, email campaigns, and campus videos
- Served as the primary liaison with vendors (i.e. EAB, Encoura, Slate, etc.)
Assistant Director, High School Services
University of California, Santa Barbara
04.2008 - 03.2014
- Supervising a team of 5 SAO II staff whose primary responsibility is the generating of freshman applications to UC Santa Barbara
- Oversaw and coordinated yield efforts which supported the campus initiatives towards diversity, major enrollment and nonresident recruitment
- Helped to coordinate UCSB’s first efforts to recruit outside of California and work with strategy to grow nonresident enrollment
Admissions Counselor
University of California, Santa Barbara
08.2004 - 04.2008
- Recruitment of freshman applicants from California high schools
- Annually working with 100+ high schools to schedule visits in person; represented UCSB at over 50 college fair events; communicating with over 10,000 prospective students/families each year
- Coordinating Advocacy efforts for the Office of Admission to increase diversity in freshman yield
EAOP Parent Services Coordinator
University of California, Santa Barbara
10.2002 - 08.2004
- Worked with families of junior high and high school students promoting higher education
- I initiated a 6-month series of parent workshops in Spanish with Cal-SOAP
- Coordinated multiple conferences with campus partners, including College Making it Happen and UC system wide EAOP events
- I supervised an intern staff of 12
- I coordinated and maintain the database for the department; a database that holds over 9,000 students records
Education
Masters - Leadership and Liberal Studies
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, PA05-2008
Bachelor of Arts - Philosophy
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara06-2001
Skills
- Relationship building
- Strategic planning
- Verbal and written communication
- Decision-making
- Strategies and goals
- Staff development
Committees:
- Strengthening Opportunities for Latinx (SOL), Jan. 2001 - Present, Co-chair 2021-2023, Chair 2023-2024, UCSB campus committee supporting Latinx faculty and staff in professional development, campus community, and cultural awareness
- Chicano Latino Advisory Committee (CLAC) to President Drake, Sept 2021 - Present, Staff representative on system wide committee addressing the concerns of Latinx faculty and staff for the UC system
- UCSB DEI HSI Works Group August 2022 - Present. Working with campus partners to support Latinx student demands and supporting HSI initiatives on campus
- UCSB Dream Scholar Resource Team/Undocumented Student Support Services, Sept 2009 - Present, Supporting undocumented students at UC Santa Barbara. On the campus committee, former co-chair from 2009-2012
- Board of Directors, UCSB Alumni Association, July 2006- June 2012
References
- Lisa Przekop, Executive Director of Admissions (Retired), UC Santa Barbara, (805) 895-2024 | sblisaprz@gmail.com
- Monique Limon, California State Senator District 19, (916) 651-4019 | monique.limon@sen.ca.gov
- John Wilkerson, Associate VP for International Services, University of Indiana, (812) 855-6380, wilkerjh@iu.edu
- Alfred Herrera, Assistant Dean and Founding Director, Emeritus, UCLA Center for Community Partnership (310) 466-4791 | alfred57@ucla.edu
Timeline
Interim Director, Admissions
University of California, Santa Barbara
07.2024 - Current
Associate Director for School Services
University of California, Santa Barbara
03.2014 - 06.2024
Assistant Director, High School Services
University of California, Santa Barbara
04.2008 - 03.2014
Admissions Counselor
University of California, Santa Barbara
08.2004 - 04.2008
EAOP Parent Services Coordinator
University of California, Santa Barbara
10.2002 - 08.2004
Masters - Leadership and Liberal Studies
Duquesne University
Bachelor of Arts - Philosophy
University of California, Santa Barbara
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