Based on Quality, Experience and Achievements

Cal State Fullerton Makes Top 100 in Forbes Public College List

October 6, 2009

Cal State Fullerton is among the top 100 public colleges in the nation, according to a recent report presented in Forbes Magazine. In its public colleges listing — instituted this year — Cal State Fullerton is ranked 81.

In its overall top U.S. undergraduate institutions, Forbes ranks Fullerton 348 this year, up from 439 in 2008.

The report, published in August, was compiled by Forbes and the Center for College Affordability and Productivity and ranked “600 undergraduate institutions based on the quality of the education they provide, the experience of the students and how much they achieve,” wrote Richard Vedder, professor of economics at Ohio University, and David M. Ewalt, deputy editor of special projects at Forbes.

Forbes instituted its annual ranking last year as “an alternative” to that published by U.S. News & World Report. In that publication’s 2009 ranking, Cal State Fullerton moved to No. 8 in its “Top Public Schools: Master’s Universities” in the West, sharing that spot with Cal Poly Pomona and Sonoma State University.

Forbes rankings were based on:

• four million student evaluations of courses and instructors from Ratemyprofessors.com (25%)
• postgraduate success, determined by enrollment-adjusted entries in Who’s Who in America (12.5%) and the average salaries of graduates reported by Payscale.com (12.5%)
• estimated student debt after four years (20%)
• four-year college graduation rates (16.67%)
• number of students or faculty members, adjusted for enrollment, who have won nationally competitive awards, such as lRhodes Scholarships or Nobel Prizes (13.33%)

Top institution overall in the Forbes 2009 list is the U.S. Military Academy — West Point.