SEASIDE, Ca., Sept. 11, 2019 -- CSU campuses ranked among the top universities for social mobility, according to the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings for 2020. A new addition to the annual rankings, the Top Performers on Social Mobility category compares how well universities and colleges do in graduating Pell Grant-eligible students.

Among regional western universities, California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) ranked third in the social mobility ranking while San José, Long Beach, Stanislaus, Pomona, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Fullerton, San Francisco, Northridge and Channel Islands dominated the top 20.

CSUMB also ranked #8 in top public schools, regional universities west, and #26 amongst all private and public regional universities in the West.

 

The CSU enrolls nearly half a million students each year, and with roughly half of them being Pell-eligible and nearly one-third being the first in their family to attend college, the university is uniquely positioned to increase social mobility on a large scale.

The CSU reinforced its commitment to promoting upward mobility when it launched Graduation Initiative 2025, a systemwide effort to improve completion rates for all students while eliminating equity gaps between students from underserved communities and their peers.

Since the initiative’s launch, the CSU has made great strides toward fulfilling its goals, including successfully lowering equity gaps between students from traditionally underserved communities and their peers, and between Pell Grant-eligible students and their peers.

U.S. News & World Report has released its Best Colleges rankings for the past 35 years in an effort to help prospective students and their families decide which institution best suits their needs.