Eight Cal State University campuses, including several in Southern California, were in the top 20 in a recent national ranking of the best colleges for economic mobility.
CollegeNET — a web technology developer for higher education and nonprofit institutions based in Portland, Oregon — recently published its 2022 “Social Mobility Index,” showcasing how a college degree can elevate the economic trajectory of alumni and their families.
The annual SMI report looked at more than 1,400 colleges and universities across the country and measured the extent to which each one provided opportunities for economically disadvantaged students, such as by offering lower tuition and succeeding in getting graduates into well-paying jobs.
Four CSUs ranked in the top 10 for economic mobility — including Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Los Angeles.
Long Beach ranked fourth and LA ranked ninth.
“I am delighted to see another organization acknowledge Cal State Long Beach for its role in promoting our students’ social mobility,” CSULB President Jane Close Conoley said in a statement.
Cal State San Marcos, in San Diego County, was first in the rankings, which came out last month. Bakersfield was 10. East Bay was 11th, Northridge was 15th, San Francisco was 16th and Pomona was 17th.
“The higher education degree has become the new high school diploma,” CollegeNET says on its website, “an essential requisite for obtaining reasonable employment and achieving economic mobility in the 21st century.”
The methodology CollegeNET used to evaluate the universities was based on factors such as cost of attendance, economic background of the student body, graduation rates and early career salaries. This year’s ranking also included a new metric called “ethos” – which measured how well a school’s messages and communications inform students and the public about its mission and the value of a college degree.
The SMI differs from most other rankings, CollegeNET said, in that it focuses directly on the factors that enable economic mobility — in other words, the ability of alumni to improve their economic status once they graduate and go into the workforce.
The CSU system, headquartered in Long Beach, has long excelled at that.
“These universities collectively provide more than 190,000 students with the tools and resources to take charge of their future, purpose, good paying jobs and make a positive impact in their communities,” according to the CSU website. “As quality and affordability are staples of a CSU degree, alumni are able to walk confidently into the workforce without the financial repercussions of high college debt.”
Nearly one-third of undergraduates in the CSU system are the first in their families to attend college, and nearly half of CSU students are from underrepresented communities. Half of CSU undergraduates receive the Pell Grant, indicating financial need, according to the CSU’s website.
Cal State Long Beach is one of the most diverse, with more than 70% of students being minorities, according to the CSULB website.
The CSU system, meanwhile, also prioritizes students who transfer from other institutions, creating programs and initiatives geared toward providing the necessary guidance and resources for transfer students. One of those programs is the Associate Degree for Transfer, which started in 2010 and provides California community college students with a clearer, more effective pathway to a four-year degree.
The transfer acceptance rate at CSULB is about 46%, according to the university’s website.
In 2022, the school saw 26,872 students apply as transfers and it admitted 12,557 of the applicants.
“I am proud that CSULB continues to be recognized for delivering on its promise of providing an exceptional educational experience at a low cost,” Conoley said, “effectively supporting students through to degree completion, and advancing educational equity.
“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff, together with the support of our alumni and friends,” she added, “the Beach is once again recognized as a national leader in higher education.”