For the fourth consecutive year, SUNY Old Westbury ranks among the leading institutions for social mobility in the annual U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. SUNY Old Westbury ranked 13th in the publication's "2022 America's Best Colleges" this year among more than 180 universities in the Northeast.
In addition to being identified for fueling the social mobility of its graduates, SUNY Old Westbury was ranked the 45th Top Public Colleges among Regional Universities in the North and 124th overall among Top Regional Universities in the North.
“Higher education has always been key to transforming the lives of marginalized Americans," said College President Timothy E. Sams. "Our institution provides those transformative education experiences for students from all walks of life while encouraging them to take ownership of their future."
The U.S. News social mobility recognition is the second earned by the College in 2022 for the economic mobility of its graduates. Earlier this year, SUNY Old Westbury earned a ranking of 35 nationally in the Third Way Economic Mobility Index, a review by the national think tank Third Way that assesses the degree of economic mobility provided by institutions of higher education.
Introduced in 2019 as part of the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, the social mobility category considers the degree to which an institution elevates its low-income graduates to a higher standard of living. As rankings leaders such as U.S. News have adjusted their formulas in the past few years, they increasingly consider social mobility among the leading measures of higher education success.
Since its founding, Old Westbury has focused its mission to provide access and opportunity to students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Recognized as a Minority Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education, the College is widely recognized among the most diverse institutions in the nation with more than 60 percent of its student body made up of people of color. Approximately 54 percent of its student body were Pell Grant eligible in 2020-2021, the latest year for which complete figures are available.
"In a time of rising inequality and division, students must be prepared to be the leaders our society needs," said Sams. "We are proud to be recognized as a place whose focus on critical thinking, leadership and social justice is accessible and provides the value our graduates need to make change in the world."
U.S. News & World Report reviewed 1,450 public and private colleges and universities with U.S. bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on 17 measures of academic quality. Ranks are based on methodology used by the publication that includes graduation and retention rank; peer assessment rank; faculty resources rank; financial resources rank; graduation rate performance rank; student excellence rank; graduate indebtedness rank, social mobility rank, and alumni giving rank.