CSUSM Ranked 13th in the Nation for Student Success

California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) has been ranked among the top colleges and universities in the country that are preparing students to land good jobs after graduation without the burden of excessive loans.

CSUSM ranked number 13 out of 1,182 schools and is the top university in the California State University system. The index is prepared by the California-based nonprofit organization Educate to Career Inc.

According to the nonprofit, the index uses a set of metrics to determine the economic value added by each school in the ranking pertaining to the “employability of graduates measured against the total cost of education.”

“Users of the index will recognize that schools providing a practical education for a reasonable tuition-rate are highly ranked,” said ETC president and founder Michael R. Havis. “Public, state colleges are particularly adept at graduating students who land good jobs, and are unburdened by excessive loan balances. In our view, this is how the college education system is supposed to function.”

Among the metrics used in the index are: the percentage of graduates employed in occupations which draw from their field of study; average salary earned by recent graduates; percentage of graduates employed within one year of graduation; in-state net tuition; and loan default rates.

“CSUSM is increasingly becoming a national model for student success,” said CSUSM President Karen Haynes. “As we demonstrate the importance of public higher education, our programs and practices are expanding access to a diverse population of students in support of our region’s social and economic vitality.”

The ranking follows other recent awards and designations:

• One of 91 colleges and universities nation-wide to receive the 2015 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award from INSIGHT into Diversity magazine.
• CSUSM ranked number 21 in the Best Bang for the Buck Colleges in the West category of the 2015 Washington Monthly College Rankings.
• CSUSM was designated a Top School by Military Advanced Education in its 2015 Guide to Colleges and Universities. The guide, which measures best practices in military and veteran education, recognizes schools that provide optimal programs, flexibility and support services for military members and their families. This is the second year in a row that CSUSM has earned this distinction.