by Suzanne Potter
California News Service
Higher-education experts are promoting a new way to rank colleges and universities, proposing an Economic Mobility Index (EMI) to measure whether the school creates a path to the middle class, instead of the traditional rankings.
The nonprofit think tank Third Way released its EMI rankings this spring, and California State University-Los Angeles, and California State University-Dominguez Hills took the top two spots in the U.S., with California State Universities in Bakersfield, Stanislaus, Fresno, and San Bernardino in the top 10.
Nicole Siegel, deputy director of education for Third Way, said it is because they provide the best return on investment for the highest number of students.
“The reality is selectivity and historical prestige have long been prioritized over student outcomes,” Siegel contended. “But if the primary purpose of postsecondary education is supposed to be to catalyze an increase in economic mobility for students, we need to elevate the schools that are actually succeeding in this goal.”
The top 10 schools on the EMI are all Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), where Hispanics make up at least 25 percent of the student body. Some highly selective schools such as Harvard also provide a big jump in earnings potential, but they serve very few low-income students.
Research from the group Excelencia in Education showed in the U.S., 559 schools qualify as HSIs, and 66 percent of Hispanic students are clustered in 18 percent of schools.
Alam Hasson, interim vice provost at Fresno State University, said one secret to their success is a personal approach to student retention.
“When we admit a student, we’re making a commitment to do everything that we can to ensure that they can be as successful as they can be,” Hasson stated. “And every student is different.”
The school with the highest percentage of Hispanic students in the state, at 92 percent, is Imperial Valley College. Schools enrolling the largest numbers of Hispanic students include East Los Angeles College, California State University-Fullerton, California State University-Northridge, and the University of California Riverside.
In other news by California News Service
Lawmakers propose new national monument honoring Chávez
Congress is considering a new bill to establish a national historical park honoring union organizer César Chávez and the farmworker movement he led. The new park would include the existing national monument in Keene, plus the site of the first headquarters in Delano and the Santa Rita Center in Phoenix, Arizona. U.S. Rep. Raúl Ruíz – D-CA – co-sponsored the House version of the bill. “Growing up the son of farm workers in Coachella, I remember seeing Cesar Chavez organize our parents,” said Ruíz.
“And he was an inspiration to all of us then and he continues to be an inspiration to me to this day and to many of us.” McDonnell Hall in San Jose is likely to be added to the park in the future. The bill also would establish a national historic trail along the 300-mile march route taken by farmworkers between Delano and Sacramento in 1966.
Ruiz said part of the National Park Service’s mandate is to tell the nation’s story – and all groups should see their achievements honored.
“It’s so important to elevate the voices of individuals and the movements like the farmworkers who are such an essential part of our nation’s history, our culture, our economy,” said Ruiz. “And that’s why it’s so important to tell their stories as well.”
Right now only a small percentage of the nation’s national historic sites honor Americans of color.
