Stanislaus State has once again received national recognition – this time, from the Obama administration.
As part of President Barack Obama’s drive toward accountability in higher education, the Department of Education released a report highlighting public and private universities in the nation that excel at enrolling and graduating low-income students, with Stanislaus State taking the number one spot.
For the first time, schools were scored based on the number of recipients of Pell Grants they enroll and the percent of those students who go on to earn degrees. Pell Grants typically are awarded to children of families earning around $40,000 or less and are used as a measure of low income.
The report shows that 58 percent of Stanislaus State students receive Pell Grants, and 53 percent of recipients graduate within six years — an even higher percentage than the number of all students who graduate in six years (52 percent). The report also shows the percentage of Pell Grant recipients who earn more than $25,000 six years after enrolling (58 percent) and the annual net price of education for low-income students ($5,128). Those numbers earned Stanislaus State a spot on the report’s list of 13 public universities that stand out in the specific presidential mandate.
While the Obama administration hopes that the public exposure will encourage universities to enroll and graduate more low-income students, it also wants to help aid the schools in their efforts. The White House has proposed a total of $5.7 billion in bonuses over 10 years to be shared among the schools that do the best job of serving low-income students, and though the budget still requires congressional approval, Stanislaus State is poised directly at the top of the list of schools which may benefit from such funding.
The national recognition from the Department of Education is the latest in a string of praise for Stanislaus State – specifically, the work that the university does to serve low-income students.
Last July, Money Magazine ranked Stanislaus State No. 1 among all U.S. public universities for helping its students “exceed expectations.” Last October, the University was ranked No. 5 in the nation for the “upward mobility” of its students in a study commissioned by National Public Radio.
