While 14 Cal State universities notched six-year graduation rate increases over the previous year, nine schools in the system saw their rates decline.
The system schools with the biggest increases in graduation rates are: San Jose, with about five percentage points; East Bay, with nearly two-and-a-half; and Fresno with more than two percent.
EdSource reports the figures represent the difference in completion among first-time, full-time freshman students, who started in 2018 and those who began in 2017.
But several campuses' graduation rates slipped year-over-year, with the deepest dips at three of Cal State's smallest campuses. They are: Cal Maritime, whose graduation rate fell by seven percent; Stanislaus, by more than four-and-a-half percentage points; and Monterey Bay, by about four percent.
Two of Cal State's largest campuses – San Diego and Long Beach – also recorded slight decreases.
That's according to campus-level statistics the system unveiled this week, coinciding with Cal State's November board of trustees meeting.
The university system is nearing the end of a decade-long campaign to graduate more students, which will conclude in spring 2025. It has made marked improvement toward hitting top-line goals across the system, but is falling short on some targets.
Cal State officials have said that the pandemic set back progress on some graduation metrics. They also cite a need to focus on retaining students entering their second and third years of school, particularly students of color.
Systemwide, Cal State is aiming to have 40 percent of first-year students graduate in four years and 70 percent of first-year students graduate in six years by spring 2025.
