Cal State San Bernardino has once again been recognized as one of the leading universities in the nation, according to the annual college rankings by Forbes and Money magazines.

“We are deeply honored to be listed among the country’s best,” said CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales. “Our faculty, staff and administrators work hard to make sure our students, many the first in their families to attend college, receive an exceptional quality education that is also a great value.”

The Forbes ranking lists the top 660 colleges and universities in the country measuring the top 20 percent of all U.S. undergraduate institutions. Forbes listed CSUSB 433rd among the top colleges in the nation.

CSUSB was also ranked 83rd among Forbes’ top institutions in the West and 140th among the top four-year public institutions in the nation.

In compiling the listings, Forbes worked with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, using statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, Payscale and America’s Leaders list, the Forbes tally of alumni success.

The colleges were ranked in five general categories: post graduate success (32.5 percent), student debt (25 percent), student satisfaction (25 percent), graduation rate (7.5 percent) and academic success (10 percent).

The Forbes list is compiled focusing on output. “What are students getting out of college?” asked Forbes senior editor Caroline Howard.

“College has become one of the biggest financial decisions students and their families make,” Howard wrote on the Forbes website. “They deserve all the information they can get on the questions that directly concern them: Are current undergrads satisfied? Is it likely I’ll graduate on time or incur a ton of student debt? Will I get a good job and be a leader in my chosen profession?”

Money magazine ranked CSUSB 392nd overall on its list of 736 of the nation’s best colleges and universities, which was culled from approximately 1,500 institutions of higher learning in the United States.

The Money rankings were based on 21 factors in three categories:

  • The quality of education focusing on the six-year graduation rate, peer quality, instructor quality and the value added graduation rate;
  • Affordability focusing on the net price of a degree, debt – taking into account both student debt upon graduation and parents’ federal loans – the student loan default risk, the value-added student loan default risk and the affordability for low- and moderate- income students;
  • And outcomes focusing on graduates’ earnings; earnings adjusted by majors; 10-year earnings; Brookings Institution analysis of the market value of alumni skills; comparative value earnings; career services and job meaning – how your work makes the world a better place.

The Forbes rankings appears in its America’s Top Colleges webpage.

Money magazine’s complete rankings are posted online at “Money’s Best Colleges.” For a full description of the methodology, see 'How MONEY Ranks the Nation’s Best Colleges.'

California State University, San Bernardino is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in Inland Southern California. Opened in 1965 and set at the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, the university reflects the dynamic diversity of the region and has the most diverse student population of any university in the Inland Empire. CSUSB serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually.

For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.