California State University, Stanislaus was ranked number 10 out of 539 universities across the nation and third within the CSU system on the Social Mobility Index (SMI) Ratings.
This ranking highlights universities that are attempting to provide students with the most economic mobility.
“Stanislaus is allowing me to receive an education and prepare myself for graduate school,” Chalice Quintero (sophomore, Pre Nursing) said.
According to the SMI website, ratings are based on five variables: tuition, economic background, graduation rate, early career salary and endowment. Each variable has a different level of sensitivity in order to keep universities from moving up or down in the rankings with drastic change to one variable.
These systems are focused on eliminating the leading gap between the lower class and upper class in the country. As the economic stability of the country changes, the rankings show how universities are aiming to provide students with the possibility of seeking higher education at an affordable and equal cost.
“We are paying the same amount on tuition to receive the same education; I think it is fair,” Maria Guzman (junior, Business Management) said. “What we decide to do with our lives after graduation is a personal decision.”
Universities under the SMI ranking work to solve the problem of economic immobility. The ranking is able to work on improving economic opportunity and offers students the opportunity to attempt to receive a higher title by having the ability to pursue higher education at an affordable and equal cost.
Top universities on the SMI ranking include California State University, Northridge; University of California, Davis and University of California, Berkeley.
More information can be found at  www.socialmobilityindex.org