In 1999, former Sweetwater Union School District superintendent Ed Brand met with once San Diego State University president Stephan Weber to try and overcome the small number of students enrolling and graduating from San Diego State University.

To address this issue, Brand and Weber engineered the idea of a compact for success which would be a long-term partnership between Sweetwater Union School District and SDSU.

Before Compact for Success could be put into execution, SDSU staff and Sweetwater School Board teachers worked with one another to alter the curriculum to concur with the requirements for college admission in California.

After the curriculum was adjusted, students within Sweetwater Union School District would be guaranteed admission to San Diego State University if they could meet the five benchmarks set out by the partnership between Brand and Weber.

Compact for Success was recognized in June 2012 by National Journal as a "leading innovator" in higher education and has served as a template for other programs.