CSUDH alumni move up economic ladder

By Cindy Venegas

Staff Writer

Cal State Dominguez Hills has been recognized as a model school for students in need of upward mobility.

     Students often come to the university from low-income families but progress into higher-income tiers after they graduate and enter the full-time work force, according to the study.

     CSUDH ranked No. 4 statewide in the “overall mobility” of students and second among all other California State University campuses, according to a Jan. 18 report on “The Equity of Opportunity.”

     Nationwide, Dominguez ranked 18 out of 2,137 in overall mobility.

     But what does this mean? It means that many of the students who attend CSUDH come from a family in the bottom five tiers of income distribution in the United States, but end up in the top five.

     The college provides high-quality academic programs that give students the tools to beat the odds and be successful when coming from low-income families.

     This school creates access when there are no options and opens many doors for brighter futures and financially struggling students, according to the rankings.

     With these opportunities provided by the school, students are able to compete in the real world with individuals coming from highly selective colleges while in the meantime moving up two or more “income quintiles.”

     CSUDH President Willie J. Hagan said that the New York Times article, where the report was released, is a “welcome validation for the great work all of you [CSUDH campus community] are involved in every day,” according to a news release on PRWeb.

     He continued by saying that students should be proud of attending a great institution that keeps driving students to become middle class citizens and beyond.