| In its recent release of the national Social Mobility Index (SMI), CollegeNET ranked North Carolina A&T State University No. 2 out of 918 universities. This ranking indicates that the university is responsibly contributing to solving problems associated with economic immobility as well as some deterring and limiting factors facing college students across the country.
“We are excited to have received this ranking. This is a direct result of our aggressive approach to drive excellence in our academic programs and making strategic investments in our faculty and our university facilities,” Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. said. “These investments have helped us attract a high number of very bright students – a large percentage of whom happen to come from a low-income background and who are first-generation college students.”
The SMI measures the extent to which a college or university educates more economically disadvantaged students (with family incomes below the national median) at lower tuition, so they can graduate and obtain good paying jobs. Institutions with high SMI ranks would be of interest to students and families who value civic and economic responsibility, awareness and moving efficiently to a greater position of social and economic influence in the country.
The ranking further emphasizes the university’s economic impact study that emphasized and noted its significant social and economic impact within North Carolina, throughout the nation and across the globe.
With data collected from third party sources including Payscale, Inc. and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, the SMI is calculated using five variables including: published tuition; percent of student body whose families are below the US median income; graduation rate; reported median salary 0-5 years after graduation; and endowment.
A full list of the SMI ranking and in-depth information about methodology is available online. |
