Sac State ranked among the nation’s top universities for ‘transforming lives’

Sacramento State was among the nation’s top universities in rankings released by Money.com. The university ranked in the top 10% of 730 nationwide colleges for overall value.

Money.com’s annual “Best Colleges for Your Money” rankings analyzes universities’ “value to students and their families” in several categories. Sac State was also ranked No. 9 for most transformative colleges and in the top 50 for best public colleges.

Sac State’s students, who began fall classes Monday, reflect the “transformative” ranking the school received, according to James Dragna, executive director for university initiatives and student success. More than a third of students are the first in their families to attend college and over 60% receive some state or federal financial aid, he said.

“Our students are achieving more than what their backgrounds might suggest. We have the opportunity to transform lives by offering access to students of all backgrounds who also are talented and hardworking,” Dragna said.

The four-year graduation rate of the school is 20.4%, improving by 127% since 2016, with other significant increases in six-year graduation rates and transfer students’ two-year graduation rates.

Other schools in the California State University system were ranked highly by Money.com, with 15 of 23 campuses falling in the top 100 colleges.

Sac State’s courses are currently being conducted virtually, with only 5% of classes being conducted in-person with precautions, with approval from the chancellor’s office.

This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 10:52 AM.