Access & Timely Graduation for Diverse Students

Continued Commitment to
ACCESS & TIMELY GRADUATION FOR DIVERSE STUDENTS

CSU Long Beach is committed to student access to higher education and equally committed to ensuring all students are successful in their higher education journey. In the last two decades, the application volume has increased to the current level of over 71,000 first-time freshmen applicants. CSULB is the 8th most applied to university in the United States and most applied to in the CSU system. The Underrepresented Minority (URM) enrollment has increased by over 40% during this period, while the non-minority enrollment has remained unchanged. Currently, 54% of the enrolled class are URMs. For the first time in campus history, the Minority (URM) students are the majority population.

CSULB admits all qualified students who apply from the local area high schools. This local access guarantees access to higher education for any local student. While CSULB is committed to access to higher education pathways, it is equally committed to timely degree completion. The six-year and four-year graduation rates have improved over the past decade for all ethnic groups. The university average for six-year graduation rate has increased from mid 40% to a historic high of close to 73%. The four-year rates have risen from 14% to 37%. These success rates are a collective effort by the entire campus community who hold student success as a central campus mission.

Application Landscape

Southern California is rich in diversity and high in population density, and this is reflected in our application pool. California State University—Long Beach is among the top ten universities in the nation that receives the most first-year applications. Over the past two decades, the application volume has increased from 44,000 in 2006 to current levels exceeding 71,000. During this tremendous growth period, the ethnic makeup of the applicants is changing rapidly. The White applicants have decreased from 28% to 16%, and the African American applicants have also declined from 8% to 5%. The Hispanic applicants have increased from 33% to 47%, while the Asian applicants have remained steady at 20%. This change in the ethnicity landscape is reflected in our campus admission pipeline.

Freshmen Applicant Race/Ethnicity Trend

Underrepresented Minority Admission at a Historic High

This increase in applications has been primarily attributed to growth in the underrepresented minority (URM) applicant pool. Even though URM includes African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, and Native Hawaiians, the change is primarily to Hispanics' increases. The URM applications  have increased by 37% (from 39K to 54K), while the non-URM pool (Figure 3) has only increased by 14% (from 35K to 40K). 

To accommodate the increase in the applicant pool, CSULB has increased new student enrollment by 22% (from 8K to 10K). This enrollment growth is due primarily to efficiencies attained by the increase in graduation rates through the GI2025 initiatives. The URM enrollment during this period has increased by over 40% (from 3.4K to 4.9K), while the non-minority enrollment has remained unchanged at approximately 4K. Currently, 54% of the enrolled class are Underrepresented Minorities.

Underrepresented Minority Applications time

Semester	Total Applied	Total Admitted	Total Enrolled
Fall 2014	39,332	10,817	3,434
Fall 2015	40,425	10,554	3,521
Fall 2016	45,745	11,632	3,773
Fall 2017	46,783	11,034	3,851
Fall 2018	52,356	13,525	4,432
Fall 2019	54,064	17,139	4,924

Non-Underrepresented Minority Applications Enrolled over time

Semester	Total Applied	Total Admitted	Total Enrolled
Fall 2014	35,837	15,764	3,962
Fall 2015	35,543	14,675	3,793
Fall 2016	36,702	14,695	3,516
Fall 2017	36,899	13,660	3,317
Fall 2018	42,024	16,623	3,987
Fall 2019	40,903	19,438	4,035

Underrepresented Minority Campus Population at a Historic High

The total campus enrollment has increased from 37,700 to 39,400 over the past four years (2016 to 2020). This increase is a strategic initiative to improve access. CSULB admits ALL local qualified students. Hence, this increase does not change the number of local students. It increases opportunities for non-local applicants outside the immediate area.

Over the past four years, the Hispanic/Latino population has steadily increased to the current levels of 46%, while all other ethnicities have declined slightly. The Minority (URM) population was 44.4% in 2016, and this has steadily increased to a 50% in 2020.  For the first time in campus history, the Minority (URM) students are the majority population.

Guaranteed Access to Local Underserved Population

CSULB admits all qualified students who apply from the local area high schools. This local access guarantees access to higher education for any local student. The majority of the freshmen African American and Hispanic students have access to CSULB through this unique program. Giving preference to all local students who apply from the high schools surrounding the campus is a strategic priority for CSULB. CSULB defines local based on high school of origin for incoming First-Time Freshmen and Transfers. The geographic boundaries used to determine local area high schools for first-year students are also used to determine incoming transfers' local preference. 

To see a current geographic representation of the local preference area, along with a list of schools and districts, please visit: /admissions/local-preference-admission-consideration 

Double Admissions to Historically Challenged Applicants Effective Fall 2021 

CSULB will double its efforts to increase admission based on a holistic review. The application process targets communities based on low socioeconomic status and applicants who historically have low college-going rates. These students typically do not do well in standardized tests. Hence, we encourage targeted freshmen applicants to submit materials for a holistic review. 

Holistic review is a collaborative effort between Enrollment Services and The Office of Outreach and School Relations, called Beach Pathways. The applications are reviewed by a committee, including representatives from Outreach, Educational Opportunities, Disabled Student Services, Student Services, Academic Affairs, and faculty. Admissions criteria include the potential for degree completion, community involvement/leadership, and overcoming significant hardship. All applicants must meet CSULB minimum eligibility. Typically, we allow for 200 applicants through this admission process. Effective Fall 2021, we will double our efforts to target 400 applicants.  

Continued Progress in Graduation Rates for all Ethnicities

While CSULB is committed to access to higher education pathways, it is equally committed to timely degree completion with significant progress in six-year and four-year graduation rates.

Six-Year Graduation Rates: Over the past decade, the CSULB has made significant progress. The overall university six-year graduation rates (Figure 5) have improved from mid 40% to 73%. This progress is seen across all ethnic groups. Asian and Hispanic populations have made over 20% gains over the past decade. At the same time, the Black/African American and Visa Non-US populations have made close to 18% gains. The American Indian/Alaska Natives and Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders have made minimal gains, and these populations are also less than 0.2% or less than ten students per cohort.

Six-Year Graduation Rates by Ethnicity

Four-Year Graduation Rates: CSULB has also made significant progress in four-year graduation rates over the past decade. The overall university four-year graduation rates (Figure 6) have improved from around 14% to 37%. This progress is seen across all ethnic groups. Asian and White populations have made close to 30% gains over the past decade. Simultaneously, the Black/African American and Visa Non-US populations have made close to 15% gains. The Hispanics have made close to 26% gain. American Indian/Alaska Natives and Natives and Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islanders show significant variations. However, these populations are also less than 0.2% or less than ten students per cohort. 

Four-Year Graduation Rates by Ethnicity