What are the best colleges and universities in California if you reward schools for making the best use of their limited resources? Academic Stewardship asks how effectively schools manage their financial and human resources to gain the influence that makes them academically excellent. Schools that are exemplary in Academic Stewardship are doing everything in their power to help students and faculty achieve their full potential.
Colleges and universities in California deserve to be recognized when they do more with less. It’s impressive when a large wealthy school can spend money lavishly on expensive buildings and programs. But it’s even more impressive when a small school with limited means is able to train and inspire students that the larger wealthier schools tend to ignore.
The American Association of Colleges and Universities reported in late 2021 that almost 75 percent of higher-education professionals at US colleges and universities felt financial constraints prevented their schools from effectively attracting students. Distracted by the size and amenities of larger schools, prospective students tended especially to be overawed by the big research universities.
California’s smaller colleges, especially its liberal arts colleges, need effective ways of communicating their value to a world that celebrates “bigger is better” and “you need the best.” Unfortunately, most college ranking companies, such as U.S. News & World Report, define “best” in a way that devalues schools with smaller budgets and fewer students even when these schools do remarkable work in advancing their students’ education. By and large, college rankings penalize schools that serve underserved populations.
Inspired by Malcolm Gladwell, who for years now has criticized conventional college rankings for misrepresenting what’s good and valuable in education, we decided to construct a new ranking metric that highlights those schools that do more with less. That metric—called the Academic Stewardship metric—takes away both the size and the wealth advantage of schools, and focuses instead on how well schools use the resources available to them to advance the education of their students.
As a metric, Academic Stewardship is defined by a precise mathematical formula, which can be found in our Academic Stewardship white paper. Measuring the Academic Stewardship of California’s colleges requires measuring two forms of stewardship: 1) Stewardship of financial resources (using the money they have responsibility without waste) and 2) Stewardship of human resources (doing their best to help students, faculty, and administration to flourish). Together, these two types of stewardship form what we call Academic Stewardship. If you want to learn more about the factors involved in Academic Stewardship, click the more button below.
Academic Stewardship as so defined is connected to keeping tuition and other costs down, but it should not be confused with affordability or frugality. The schools that this metric ranks as exemplary academic stewards tend to be all over the map when it comes to tuition and other costs. At issue is the influence of schools given the financial and human resources they have on hand. If a school is going to charge more for tuition, then that needs to be reflected in the school having proportionately greater influence.
The benefits of attending a school with strong academic stewardship include:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
18%
Graduation
93%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1530/34
Harvey Mudd College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
59%
Graduation
51%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1060/21
Pacific Union College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$59K
Acceptance
7%
Graduation
92%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1545/35
California Institute of Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$58K
Acceptance
13%
Graduation
92%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1435/32
Claremont McKenna College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$58K
Acceptance
35%
Graduation
88%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1411/31
Scripps College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$58K
Acceptance
17%
Graduation
83%
Student body
1K
Pitzer College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
60%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1080/22
Woodbury University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$49K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
72%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1215/25
Westmont College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$50K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
63%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1129/23
Whittier College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$58K
Acceptance
41%
Graduation
84%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1390/30
Occidental College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
74%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1125/22
Dominican University of California’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$57K
Acceptance
9%
Graduation
94%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1465/33
Pomona College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
57%
Graduation
52%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1030/20
La Sierra University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$54K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
71%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1170/25
University of Redlands’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$52K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
73%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1150/25
Saint Mary's College of California’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$44K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
71%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1195/24
Biola University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$40K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
72%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1225/26
Point Loma Nazarene University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
60%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1070/20
Sonoma State University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$8K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
49%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1085/21
California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$60K
Acceptance
42%
Graduation
89%
Student body
9K
Median SAT/ACT
1340/29
Pepperdine University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$56K
Acceptance
51%
Graduation
92%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1360/30
Santa Clara University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$52K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
70%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1240/27
University of the Pacific ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$46K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
66%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1115/21
University of La Verne’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$2K
Graduation
59%
Student body
9K
Foothill College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$53K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
71%
Student body
10K
Median SAT/ACT
1230/26
University of San Francisco’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
California’s higher education institutes span across the entire state, allowing students to study by the beach, in the forest, in small towns, and in large cities. There are over 30 high quality online degrees programs that would literally allow you to study from anywhere in California, or the world. The largest university, the University of California, Los Angeles, serves nearly 44,000 students and offers a tuition rate around $13,000. This isn’t the only school with a large student body though. California is home to 23 colleges and universities with student populations of over 20,000 students.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
However, more than half of the state’s schools serve smaller student populations, offering plenty of options for students who crave a more intimate campus experience. Additionally, California boasts 50 religiously affiliated schools. Many of these schools have high graduation rates, though tuition costs can range greatly, from $8,000 at Bethesda University up to $54,000 at Pepperdine University.
Additionally, many of California’s colleges and universities boast influential faculty and alumni, including Neil Armstrong, Jerry Lewis, and Weird Al
Yankovic. In addition to famous alumni and professors, California’s schools are also home to some of the country’s top degree programs, including nursing, business, religious studies, education, literature, and law.
Though Hollywood has given an inside look into California’s most popular landmarks and attractions, these one-of-a-kind places aren’t the only reason people flock to The Golden State. With hundreds of colleges and universities to choose from, students have countless opportunities to further their education in California.
To learn more about earning your degree in California, check out some of the state’s top programs and career paths.