2:20pm | Steady improvements in the graduation rates of students earned Cal State Long Beach a place on a distinguished list this week, as a Chronicle of Higher Education report showed that a 13-percent increase has tied CSULB for the third best improvement in the nation.
The report studied graduation rates based on the years 2003-08, for students who graduated with an undergraduate degree within six years. (Disclosure: Yours truly falls into that category.) The graduation rate for those students increased from 42-percent to 55-percent over the previous five-year period.
“This is further evidence that our comprehensive efforts to graduate more students places us among the best in the nation,” said CSULB President F. King Alexander. “It also shows how committed our faculty and staff truly are to the ultimate goal of student completion.”
CSULB ranked in the top two-percent of the 246 institutions studied. The university is crediting a stronger commitment to help students along the road to graduation. From a recent press release:
Years ago CSULB initiated its strategic planning goals to increase its graduation rate to about 58 percent by 2012 and reduce the achievement gaps for low-income and underrepresented minority groups. CSULB established five task forces to: examine curriculum to simplify requirements and reduce excess or unproductive units; identify student support needs; ensure students receive proper advisement; explore faculty development to identify the most effective instructional methods that contribute to student retention and learning; and use research and evaluation to support other task forces with data.