Local colleges score well on basics

Four San Diego County institutions fair well on a new report card on the nation’s universities issued by a nonprofit organization dedicated to higher education reform.

The University of San Diego, San Diego State University and California State University San Marcos each earned a “B” from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, while the University of California San Diego earned a “C.”

The report ranks universities on their basic requirements for students.

“We believe a university has a responsibility to direct the kids to some of the basics,” said David Azerrad, a senior researcher for the organization. “You are doing them a disservice if you let them fend for themselves with the catalog. Do they require basic math, and understanding of economics, being able to write a coherent paragraph, science?”

While the grades of the local universities may not seem overwhelming, Azerrad said they are strong on a relative basis.

In its report released Monday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., the organization granted only 16 “A’s” to the 714 universities it surveyed nationwide.

In California, only Thomas Aquinas College in Ojai got an “A.”

By way of comparison, Stanford earned a “C” in the group’s report.

The University of California Berkeley earned an “F.”