California State University, Bakersfield has been ranked among the top universities in the nation in helping low-income students achieve success.
National think tank Third Way has ranked CSUB No. 5 in its Economic Mobility Index, part of its new report “Out With the Old, in With the New: Rating Higher Ed by Economic Mobility.” Five other CSUs made the top 10: Dominguez Hills, Fresno, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Stanislaus.
“We celebrate this powerful affirmation that a CSUB degree is the best investment our students can make in themselves, and the dividends of that investment last a lifetime,” said President Lynnette Zelezny. “Families of our region know that higher education is the transformational key to economic mobility and that a degree is the magical element that drives dreams to good-quality jobs. Our students are lifting economic development in our region and state and making the world a better place.”
To create the index, Third Way analyzed 1,320 bachelor’s degree-granting institutions to see which schools enroll the highest proportion of low-income students — defined as families that make $30,000 or less — and provide them with a strong return on their educational investment.
The think tank then multiplied their comparative rank by the percentage of Pell Grant recipients that each institution enrolls. Data was collected from the U.S. Department of Education as well as the U.S. Census’ American Community Survey.
The study determined that the schools that provided the most economic mobility are Hispanic-Serving Institutions from California, Texas and New York. These are schools in which Latinx students make up more than 25% of full-time equivalent undergraduates. Currently, over 60% of undergrads at the university identify as Hispanic or Latinx.
CSUB has recently been nationally recognized by other outlets for its efforts in helping economically disadvantaged students achieve success, including:
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