Skip to Local Navigation
Skip to Content
California State University, Long Beach
Planning & Budget
Print this pageAdd this page to your favoritesSelect a font sizeSelect a small fontSelect a medium fontSelect a large font
 

CSULB Student Success Efforts:  Overview

February 4, 2010


CSULB “highly valued” degrees…
… prepare students well for graduate study and the workplace, are respected by employers and graduate institutions as excellent preparation, are prized by students, parents and the community, and set graduates on pathways to careers in science, medicine and health care, politics, business, education, and other high skill occupations directly or via graduate training.

CSULB’s core academic purpose is “to graduate students with highly valued degrees.” 1  CSULB has achieved a great deal toward fulfilling this purpose in recent years:

  • Record graduation rates, doubling in a decade
  • 4th in economic diversity in our region 2

  • 6th in ethnic diversity in our region 2

  • 8th nationally in awarding bachelor’s degrees to minority students 3
  • 1st nationally in awarding graduate mathematics and statistics degrees to minority students 3
  • 1st in our region and 2nd nationally for a low percentage of students graduating in debt 2
  • 1st nationally in graduates going on to earn doctoral degrees in science and engineering 4

Recent Student Success Efforts

These and other student successes have been accomplished through the hard work of many dedicated campus individuals. Key recent innovations include:

  • Graduation Greenlight programs that help students remain on track to meet all graduation requirements
  • Strengthened and mandatory advising programs starting with orientation
  • Faculty mentoring programs in sciences and other fields
  • Learning communities such as Beach Beginnings, Student Access to Science, Learning Alliance
  • Pre-baccalaureate support such as Beach Learning Community
  • African American and Latino support projects (SAAB and Mi Casa Mi Universidad)
  • Curriculum innovations in math pre-baccalaureate and graduation writing instruction
  • Innovative use of technology such as our self-service degree audits
  • Intensified and careful planning for student course needs, linked to budget allocation
  • College based projects to support students with deans’ leadership

Renewed Commitment to Student Support

But, CSULB does not rest on its laurels! President Alexander has asked the campus to renew our commitment to supporting students by boosting graduation rates even higher while sustaining and raising the value of our degrees.


Given our budget challenges, why undertake this effort now? The budget challenge may be a good reason to focus on student success. After the 1990's budget crisis, CSULB graduation rates fell to their lowest historic point. Renewing our focus now may help us avoid mistakes that hurt students. Second, we must and will undertake this effort using strategies that do not increase workload for faculty. We must identify ways to support students by working smarter, not harder.

Learn More About CSULB's Student Success Efforts

1 http://www.csulb.edu/about/
2 Among Western Master’s universities: US News and World Report America’s Best Colleges Guide, 2008 edition
3 Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 2007
4 National Science Foundation survey of baccalaureate-origin institutions of research doctorate recipients, 1995-2004

 

Back to top