CSU Monterey Bay has been honored as among the best campuses in the country at helping migrant students succeed in college.

The university’s College Assistance Migrant Program, a federally funded project designed to help students from migrant farm worker families pursue higher education, has been named one of the top 10 at helping them complete the first year of university studies.

In 2009-10, 98 percent of CAMP students – 64 of 65 – successfully completed the academic year. Only five schools in the country had a higher success rate. And of those 65 participants, 58 enrolled for their sophomore years, beating the national target in that category by four percentage points.

When efficiency and effectiveness were considered, CSUMB ranked among the top three schools nationwide in the dollar amount spent to provide services.

The students in CSUMB’s program come from Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito and Santa Clara counties.

CAMP has been around since 1972 and has helped over 20,000 students accomplish their goals. The program offers pre-college transition and first-year support services to help students develop the skills needed to stay in school and graduate.

Services include help with admissions, financial aid and other university services, parent orientations, high school and community outreach events, and summer orientation programs.

Carrie Gonzales-Lujan, coordinator of the CAMP program at CSUMB, attended the annual U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Migrant Education annual directors meeting in Alexandria, Va., in mid-July. She brought news of the university’s national ranking with her when she returned to campus.

"The directors meeting is a great opportunity for all CAMP projects to meet directly with the Office Of Migrant Education directors and staff," Gonzales-Lujan said. "It allows us to ask direct 'how to' questions about services and eligibility and to look at best practices.

"The first year I attended was 2008. When I saw the Top 10 list I said to myself, 'CSUMB CAMP will be on that list one day.' And we made it in the third year. It is exciting to see our program succeed tremendously in such a short time." To learn more about CAMP at CSUMB, and to view a video about the program, click here.