At California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA), international education plays a vital role in fostering cultural connections and expanding opportunities for students. Located in one of the world’s most diverse cities, Cal State LA currently supports 450 enrolled F-1 international students and 301 students on OPT or STEM OPT each year. The university also advances global learning through a wide range of study abroad and international partnership programs.
In recent years, rising demand and reduced staffing have created new challenges—but also opened the door for creative solutions. By rethinking how they deliver services, Cal State LA’s International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) office has found new ways to stay compliant, operate more efficiently, and remain focused on what matters most: helping students thrive.
With the help of Terra Dotta’s ISSS platform and SEVIS Coordinator as a Service, the team has streamlined operations while continuing to deliver the personalized support that defines their work.
Resource shifts strained capacity, but not the mission
Following a 7.9% budget reduction to the university’s operational budget—equal to $397 million for the 2025-26 academic year—Cal State LA’s international programs felt the impact. Staff departures and a hiring freeze left ISSS operating with just one Designated School Official (DSO) supporting hundreds of F-1 students and graduates on OPT.
“It’s not just the volume—it’s the complexity,” says James Fukaye, International Student Advisor at Cal State LA. “With fewer hands on deck, I’ve had to take on everything from document processing to tech troubleshooting to student support.”
The hiring freeze and broader uncertainty across campus made it harder to maintain even routine support. Processing times doubled—from 7 to 14 days—and advising became more transactional as the team worked to keep up.
“Like many across the CSU system, our office has had to adapt to changing resources while responding to increasing demand,” says Matthew Walters, Director of the International Programs Office at Cal State LA. “It’s been a challenge, but our top priority remains ensuring that students have the time, attention, and support they need to succeed.”
ISSS also became a frequent first stop for questions that sometimes fell outside its primary scope.
“As with many institutions, there are times when questions from international students span across multiple areas of the university,” says Walters. “When that happens, our office often becomes the first point of contact. We’re always glad to help, but we also work to connect students with the right campus experts for their specific needs.”
Reclaiming time, reducing strain, restoring focus
Cal State LA first adopted Terra Dotta’s ISSS platform in 2020 to modernize student services and give international students mobile-friendly, self-service tools. By 2024, however, rising compliance demands and limited staffing intensified the pressure on the office. That’s when the team added SEVIS Coordinator as a Service—a targeted solution to ease the administrative load of compliance and critical document workflows.
“Without Terra Dotta, meeting compliance requirements while also maintaining the level of student engagement we value would be much more challenging,” says Walters. “When the opportunity came to implement SEVIS Coordinator as a Service, we saw it as an important additional support for both our staff and our students. The benefits were clear right away.”
Two clicks, zero errors, and more I-20s processed
When SEVIS Coordinator as a Service launched, more than 400 SIS changes were sitting in the queue. Within three weeks, the backlog was cleared. At the same time, 160 students were issued I-20 invitations and their records were created in SEVIS with 100% accuracy—a milestone for the team.
“It was the first time I’d ever seen that list empty,” says Fukaye. “I didn’t think it was possible. It’s a big win for the team and for morale, helping us think beyond compliance and toward what else we can accomplish.”
Daily operations improved across the board. Batch processing, once time-intensive, now takes just a few clicks. Automated onboarding invitations, previously sent twice a week, are now triggered by daily checks—allowing students to receive their I-20 invitations just days after admission. In a single semester, the office sent more than 775 invitations, significantly reducing the lag between acceptance and engagement.
“Terra Dotta enables us to send daily invitations that allow us to issue more I-20s in less time,” says Fukaye. “Automated batch reporting helps us complete what used to take hours in just minutes.”
Beyond efficiency, the system has improved collaboration. With integrated workflows and built-in communications, ISSS can now coordinate more effectively with departments across campus and with external stakeholders.
Perhaps most significantly, the service helps fill the gap left by a SEVIS coordinator role the office can no longer staff during the hiring freeze.
“This has been a valuable step forward in how we manage our workload,” says Walters. “With SEVIS Coordinator as a Service handling many of the administrative compliance tasks a coordinator would normally take on, we can focus our limited staffing resources on student-facing advising. While budget challenges remain, this support is crucial in helping us maintain compliance and prioritize student engagement.”
Summary
School:
California State University, Los Angeles
Location:
Los Angeles, CA
Student Population:
- 26,000 total students
- 450 enrolled F-1 students
- 301 students on OPT/STEM OPT
Solutions:
- ISSS
- SEVIS Coordinator as a Service
- Study Abroad
Results:
- 775+ new I-20 invitations in a single semester
- 400+ SIS changes cleared in under 3 weeks
- Significantly reduced lag time from admission to I-20 issuance
