The California State University System, like most other institutions of higher education, has focused on graduation rates as the number one indicator of student success for decades.
But CSU, often referred to as “The University of the People,” is poised for a major reset as its ultimate goal shifts from a four-year degree to a good job. As more students and families question the value of a college degree, the nation’s largest four-year university system is stepping up efforts to link higher education with clear employment rewards and providing guidance on how to choose the career path that interests you. We plan to provide more intentional advice. Build a network with alumni and others who can help you get the right major and land relevant internships and jobs.
“We have to show our students what the endgame is,” CSU President Mildred Garcia said in an interview this week. “It’s not about graduation. It’s about how do you connect graduation to the career or graduate school that they’re studying and help them get there. That’s what families want, right? Return on Investment rate.”
Garcia said the changing nature of the system’s 460,000 students, 54% of whom are from historically underrepresented Latino, Black, American Indian and Alaskan Native groups, has resulted in a shift to 23 campuses. said there is a need to be more intentional about career guidance. Many students, especially those who are the first in their families to attend college, have the social connections to build a resume that is enhanced by internships, summer fellowships, and other experiences that help them jump-start their careers after graduation. There may not be, she said.
Garcia spoke about the shift Tuesday as CSU released new data on progress toward its 10-year goal of increasing graduation rates for all students and closing racial and ethnic achievement gaps. Ta. The findings show that the system falls short in some parts, even as it improves in others, and at a three-day CSU symposium this week, the 2025 Graduation Initiative and the shift to an expanded view of student success.
Will CSU meet its graduation rate goals?
The initiative aims to increase the four-year graduation rate for first-year students from 19% in 2015 to 40% in 2025, and to increase the six-year graduation rate from 57% to 70% during the same period. . The goal for transfer students is to increase the graduation rate for two-year degrees from 31% to 45% from 2015 to 2025, and to increase the graduation rate for four-year degrees from 73% to 85% in the same period.
New data for 2023-24 shows uneven progress, raising questions about whether the CSU will be able to reach its ultimate goal next year. The four-year graduation rate for first-year students rose from 35% last year to 36.1%, falling short of the target by 3.9%. The six-year interest rate remained unchanged at 62%, falling 8% short of the target.
For transfer students, the percentage of two-year degrees increased from 41% last year to 44.2%, with a shortfall of less than 1%. The four-year graduation rate for transfer students has been struggling, dropping to 75.6% from 79% last year.
According to the CSU report, only 30% of students drop out.
Other sobering data shows that capital inequality has widened over the past decade. The six-year graduation rate difference between students of historically underrepresented Latino, Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native descent and students from other backgrounds was 11.6 percentage points in 2014-15. In comparison, it was about 13 points in 2023-24.
The gap between low-income students who receive federal Pell grants and those who do not also widened from 8.8 percentage points to 11.3 percentage points over the same period.
But the data showed that today’s CSU students are different than those of a decade ago. The number of low-income, first-generation, historically underserved students increased by 50% from 2009 to 2019, from 31,404 to 47,176 in the entering class.
At the symposium, Garcia and others called on campus leaders to understand which students are dropping out and why, and to devise effective ways to stem the losses. Significant differences were found among students who remained enrolled beyond their first year, with 71% of all students staying through their third year. However, only 61% of first-generation Latino male students reached their three-year goals.
“Thankfully, we are making progress…but we still have a lot of work to do,” Garcia said. “I think we have to be honest that this is not going to happen overnight. We have to do everything we can to get our students across the finish line.”
Pandemic and inflation hit students
CSU Vice President for Academic Affairs and Student Affairs Dilcy Perez said she remains optimistic that further progress will be made by next year. She said the pandemic was a significant barrier to further success, with some students forced to drop out of school due to health reasons, family responsibilities or financial hardship. Those challenges remain for some students, she said, as inflation increases the cost of living and takes a toll on household budgets.
Still, the data shows some bright spots, including that the four-year graduation rate for first-time students has nearly doubled since 2015.
Perez said some campuses have started “early help” programs that monitor students’ grades and attendance and provide assistance to students who begin to show signs of distress. Another program, Second Start, includes support for dropouts and helps them resume their studies.
For example, California State University, Los Angeles, began using Graduate365, a new tool that allows the campus to identify and engage first-year students who do not re-enroll. California State University Monterey Bay attracts students through new program with Pebble Beach, Inc. to study and work in the hospitality industry while earning money and credits toward a degree and full-time job after graduation We offer you the opportunity to
“I think we still have a chance to make a difference,” Perez said.
As a decade of graduation planning comes to a close, CSU has launched an unprecedented outreach effort to survey more than 1 million faculty, staff, students, alumni and others about how to reimagine student success. University officials are scrutinizing the data collected and holding sessions with participants to begin charting a new direction.
Questioning the value of university
Garcia, who previously served as president of California State University Dominguez Hills and California State University Fullerton, said he wants to focus on career success after graduation. She said that while serving as president of the 350-member American Assn., she witnessed growing skepticism about the value of college degrees across the country. He was the head of a state university in Washington, D.C., and thought he should address this issue until he returned to CSU last fall to take the helm. Underrepresented first-generation college students, in particular, may arrive with “limited knowledge” of the vast array of careers available. To them.
Approximately 30% of CSU students are first-generation. And nearly 50% are Latino, a big change from 24% in 2007, when Garcia took over the Dominguez Hills campus.
Suzette Morales, a senior at California State University Fullerton majoring in business and sociology, said more career guidance is essential for students like her.
Morales, the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants with an elementary school education, said she had no idea what an internship was or how to get one until a friend told her about it during her second or third year of college. Ta. Despite having an early interest in law school, she didn’t know the requirements for the law school exam or how to pay for it, so she put that goal on hold for the time being until she graduated from school and joined the U.S. Coast Guard. I decided to do it.
“I had no corporate experience and no one to talk to about it,” Morales said.
Efforts to more intentionally link higher education and graduate work are in their infancy, but they are important not only for students but also for cities, states, and countries, and for medical professionals, teachers, businesspeople, and other educated personnel. will be needed, Garcia said. For workers to keep the economy vibrant and strong.
“We have the talent,” Garcia said. “You absolutely have to understand that public higher education is an investment.”
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