Cal State LA is at the very bottom in four-year graduation rates in 2019 for freshmen out of all the CSU universities. On the upside, it saw significant improvement in its two-year graduation rate among transfer students that same year.

The UT analyzed data of graduation rates at the 23 CSU campuses, which was organized in a table by EdSource earlier this year. The analysis was done with a focus on Cal State LA’s statistics. In the table, the graduation rates of 2015 and 2019 were juxtaposed, while also including the graduation rate goals of 2025.

The data has been broken up here in the following categories:

• Four-year graduation rate for students who began as full-time freshmen
• Six-year graduation rate for students who began as full-time freshmen
• Two-year graduation rate for transfer students
• Four-year graduation rate for transfer students

Four-year graduation rate for students who began as full-time freshmen

The four-year graduation rate in 2019 for Cal State LA “students who began as full-time freshmen” was 11 percent. That’s the lowest rate out of the 23 CSU campuses in this category. It’s still an improvement compared to its 2015 rate.

In 2015, the rate was 6.5 percent, the second-lowest at the time with Dominguez Hills behind that. From then to 2019, Dominguez Hills saw a nearly 10 percentage point jump, compared to Cal State LA’s 4.5 percentage point jump.

Cal State LA aims to increase its four-year graduation rate for freshman to 30 percent by 2025. That’s a 19 percentage point jump that would have to be made within five years.

The school’s response

Cal State LA is taking serious steps to address the shortcoming, according to Robert Lopez, a spokesperson for the school.

“We are redesigning our most challenging courses,” said Lopez in an email. “We are also building a new Center for Academic Success with tutors, academic coaches, and peer-led undergraduate study sessions to help students succeed. We are also implementing pro-active advising initiatives to reach out to students who may be struggling.”

In addition, the Center for Effective Teaching and Learning, a campus institution that offers instructor training, has expanded its services, which are now online, according to Lopez. 

This entity, said Lopez, in coordination with math instructors, helped dramatically boost freshman math performance.

Six-year graduation rate for students who began as full-time freshmen

More than 51 percent of Cal State LA freshmen graduated in a span of six years in 2019. The school aims to increase that rate to 55 percent by 2025. That’s a much smaller increase needed to meet its goal compared to its four-year graduation rate.

Cal State LA ranks 19th in this category for 2019.

The rate in this category, across the CSU campuses, is higher compared to the four-year graduation rate for freshman.

Two-year graduation rate for transfer students

Out of Cal State LA’s graduation rates, the sharpest increase was in its two-year graduation rate among transfer students.

While Cal State LA’s rate ranks 16th in this category in 2019, it saw the third highest percentage point increase from 2015 out of the CSU campuses.

In 2015, Cal State LA’s two-year graduation rate among transfer students was 24.5 percent. It jumped to 39.3 percent in 2019, exceeding its 2025 goal of 36 percent in this category. (While Cal State LA saw a 14.8 percentage point increase, two other universities that were close behind saw a 13.9 percentage point increase from 2015 to 2019 in this category.)

Four-year graduation rate for transfer students

Cal State LA’s rate also ranks 16th in this category in 2019 at 75.8 percent. It’s about a five percentage point increase from 2015 and about five percentage points away from its 2025 goal.

“It takes time to make lasting change,” said Lopez on the school’s initiatives to raise its graduation rates. “We have been investing in efforts that will be sustainable and impactful.”