When it comes to elevating livelihoods, a CSU degree is tops in California, study says

Marco Florez knows the value of his California State education because it changed his family trajectory.

He said his mother Suehey Florez immigrated to the United States from Mexico “don’t know English,” he said, but was able to attend Fresno State, where she obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees. She is now a special education teacher at the Tulali County Education Office.

“One of the biggest things that changed her life was getting an education,” Flores said.

For Flores, 22, Fresno State is an easy option because it is “really, really affordable” and it builds success for successful immigrants and second-generation students, he said . Florez will be debt-free this year as he received a reserve officer training regiment scholarship from the U.S. Army.

“A lot of people like to see Fresno as a stepping stone,” he said. “But I think it’s a soar.”

The Florez family’s experience reflects the findings of a new study that examines an increasingly important indicator of higher education: economic mobility. California Mobility Index, by HEA Group and University Futures Foundationundervalued and middle-income students with annual household income of $75,000 or less, will rank the four-year University of California for four years.

No. 1? California State University

Meanwhile, Fresno State ranks 5th on the 82 schools list Released on Thursday.

More importantly, after ten years of enrollment, nine of the top 10 universities in the ranking are CSU campuses.

She said that at a time when many people question the value of university education, the system’s commitment to upward social and economic mobility is marked. “Intentionally speaking about social mobility and its impact on the community.”

What is social mobility?

Social mobility (sometimes referred to as economic mobility) is the movement of people between classes. College education is widely seen as the key to an upward socio-economic trajectory.

Indeed, almost all of the top 50 schools in CMI have increased the income of low- and middle-income students by at least $20,000, while those with only high school degrees will earn it. The HEA’s analysis uses the Treasury tax records to measure the income of students 10 years after admission.

Student debt can be the main obstacle. CMI, created using U.S. Department of Education data, takes this into account and deducts the cost of education after scholarships and grants.

This is part of the reason why the top 15 universities on the CMI are, with UC Berkeley ranked 24th and UC 27th in the UCLA, in addition to UC Merced in No. 10 and UC Irvine’s UC Irvine. These institutions have low cost and middle-income students smaller than nearly all private schools on the list.

Michael ItzkovitzThe founder and president of Hea Group, a research and consulting firm focused on university values, said CMI’s top school “effectively attracts a group of students, elevating them to the socio-economic ladder and making them a better generation than before.”

All institutions in the top 15 in CMI have net costs less than $45,000 for four years of education. Private universities were found to be much more expensive for low- and middle-income participants. At USC No. 44, the four-year net price is about $62,000; the study shows that at No. 59 Pepperdine, it is about $131,000.

To some extent, schools in the lower half of the list are almost entirely private schools due to the higher costs, where it takes longer for students to recover the total cost of their education. By contrast, CMI shows that students at the best performing CSU schools quickly recovered from fees.

Considering Cal State LA data on the list shows that it requires on average to recover its education costs from former low- and middle-income students in the school. After deducting scholarships and grants, the typical price of these students for four years of undergraduate education is slightly higher than $18,000. Moreover, 10 years after enrollment, previous students from these income levels have median median annual incomes of more than $59,000.

Unlike many other college rankings, CMI does not consider standardized test scores or reputation, which may promote private schools.

“I think all Americans have real anxiety and concern about the cost of higher education,” said Eloy Ortiz Oakley, president of the College Futures Foundation, who commissioned CMI. “It’s the real thing that policy makers and higher education leaders have to compete with. Things, we hope that providing such data will help drive conversations.”

Cal State’s success

CSU is the country’s largest four-year public higher education system, with approximately 125,000 students graduating from 23 campuses each year.

The system is plagued by financial pressure: it faces Cut $375 million in funding In the 2025-26 budget proposed by Gavin Newsom’s governor. CSU principal Mildred García said in January that the cuts in this size would have “heartbreaking” consequences.

Oakley, former president of California Community College and University of California Regent, acknowledged the challenges of the CSU system, but said its strong performance in CMI said “California State University is conducting at California State University. The investment has been paid off.”

“We can see that CSU has been taking the biggest burden in terms of the percentage of low-income learners and helping them get into the workforce and in a way that helps them recover the cost of education,” he said.

Erin Pruitt, a graduate student at Cal State Bakersfield (No. 4 on CMI) is counting on this to be true.

She was born and raised in Bakersfield, and she received her bachelor’s degree from university in 2023 and later that year began working towards her master’s degree in business administration. Several scholarships helped pay for her education: Pruitt plans to graduate in the summer and her debt is about $21,000. Average debt according to the study group education data plan MBA graduates are about $81,000.

Pruitt, 24, said she is working in some public relations jobs outside of Kern County and “a lot more salary.” She said that coupled with her relatively low education costs have made her successful.

“This has taken me on my path [student] Debt, if I want to be in the first year, it’s huge. ” Student Group Chairman.

Itzkowitz said schools attending CMI, including Cal State Bakersfield, not only provide “extremely affordable education” for low- and middle-income students. “They also allow them to get into the workforce and have economic success in just a few short years.”

Ranking the world

University Ranking It’s a big business. A survey shows that nearly 60% of high school students Bond the University to consider themand the position drops in one of the famous lists can expensive, Due to the decline in applications.

But not all rankings are the same. In addition to the issues concerning the value of higher education, the value of the list can also be explored.

Oakley said the rankings of mainstream universities were “extremely disruptive.”

“They created the perception that individuals who graduate from the most selective, wealthiest institutions … have steps for everyone else,” he said. “So, this arms race is about to become more selective, Richer. It’s for…every other American from community college to four-year districts to public [schools] Like UC, it tilts toward the perception of these institutions. Therefore, the entire ranking system is reversed. ”

While CMI may take a different approach, other rankings focus on social mobility: The U.S. News & World Report has been available since 2018. List of countries and other regions.

For example, in the current list of publications, Cal State La tied for its current 5th place Social Mobility Ranking Western universities. However, the analysis focuses on two factors related to Pell Grant and does not consider economic data, such as benefits.

In contrast, CMI highlights “institutions that provide strong returns on investment for low- and middle-income students, but also recruit a large percentage of them,” Itzkowitz said.