Two top 10 rankings symbolize the high-quality education, superior graduation rates and warm welcome Fresno Pacific University offers all students.
U.S. News & World Report placed FPU at number four among National Universities—West as a Top Performer on Social Mobility. This list, new for 2019-2020, tracks graduation rates for students from lower-income families. Money listed FPU as number 11 nationally for Best Colleges for Transfer Students—its highest ranking for a Christian university.
“Fresno Pacific offers every student an excellent academic education based on ethics and values,” said Jon Endicott, vice president for enrollment management. “These rankings illustrate students from lower-income households graduate from FPU at the same rate as students overall. The same is true for our first-generation, Hispanic and transfer students. No matter what circumstances you come from, you can be successful here.”
To determine social mobility, U.S. News compared the graduation rates of students receiving federal Pell Grants to the rate of students who do not. The magazine selected Pell Grants as the yardstick because students who receive them typically come from households earning less than $50,000 per year, though the family income for most Pell Grant recipients is under $20,000.
Washington Monthly gave FPU a 68 placement on its national social mobility score for 2019-2020, also made up of a combination of graduation and Pell Grant recipient rates. The magazine includes 606 colleges and universities in that ranking.
FPU gained in other U.S. News lists in its category of Best Regional Universities—West: 31 among best schools, up from 39 in 2018-2019, and 35 among best values, up from 42. U.S. News released its 2019-2020 college and university rankings September 9, 2019.
Overall for 2019-2020, Washington Monthly ranked FPU number 50 of 203 schools as a Best Bang for the Buck—Western, 135 of 744 among master’s universities and 83 of 100 in Best Four-Year Schools for Adult Students. In 2018-2019, those rankings were 38 of 213 in Best Bang for the Buck—Western, 120 for master’s universities and 80 of 100 in Best Four-Year Schools for Adult Students. Washington Monthly rankings are unique in that they analyze a school’s contribution to the United States. Other Money rankings were 229 of 744 in Best Colleges in America, down from 209 of 727 in 2018-19.