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Brooklyn College near the top in helping social mobility

December 18, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

In this Feb. 1, 2017, file photo, Brooklyn College students walk between classes on campus in New York. More than two-thirds of college students at all levels said in a survey that they feel stressed about their personal finances, according The Study on Collegiate Financial Wellness, a 2017 report by The Ohio State University. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File

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Brooklyn College was recently ranked as a leader in helping students climb the socioeconomic ladder, finishing number 9 out of 1,549 four-year institutions nationwide on the eighth annual Social Mobility report for 2021.

Brooklyn College joined six other CUNY colleges, ranking second among them, according to the college’s website.

Created by CollegeNET, Inc., a provider of web-based on-demand technologies for higher education, the Social Mobility Index ranks four-year U.S. colleges and universities according to how effectively they enroll students from low-income backgrounds and graduate them into good-paying jobs.

The SMI is compiled from five variables: tuition; percent of the student body whose family incomes are below $48,000; graduation rate; median salary approximately five years after graduation; and endowment. The SMI was founded on the principle that growing disparity in economic opportunity is a pressing problem and that higher education is in the strongest position to address it, according to the college.

From its opening in the 1930s, Brooklyn College has been an institution that attracts the children of immigrants or people who are immigrants themselves, among others. Today, 38 percent of the college’s students hail from foreign countries, the college reported in 2020.

Students at Brooklyn College come from a wide variety of countries, including Russia, Jamaica, Honduras, Trinidad, Bangladesh, Israel, Ukraine and Pakistan. The college also includes a multitude of ethnic groups, from Caribbean Americans to Orthodox Jews.

A recent report from the U.S. Department of Education said, “The educational gaps that existed before the pandemic — in access, opportunities, achievement, and outcomes — are widening. And … many of these impacts are falling disproportionately on students who went into the pandemic with the greatest educational needs and fewest opportunities.”

“Unlike other college rankings that celebrate wealth and its proxies, the SMI helps families and policymakers determine which colleges are addressing the national problem of economic mobility,” said CollegeNET President Jim Wolfston.

“Once again, Brooklyn College’s transformative work helping students into rewarding careers has been recognized,” said Brooklyn College President Michelle J. Anderson. “As we continue to work our way through one of the most challenging periods in our nation’s history, our focus continues to be offering whatever assistance our students need to succeed.”

Well-known for its high-quality education at an affordable tuition and recognized nationally for its diverse student body, Brooklyn College has been an anchor institution within the borough of Brooklyn and greater New York City for more than 90 years.

With approximately 17,000 students in more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the arts, humanities, sciences, education, and business, the college is known for its rigorous academics, award-winning faculty, distinguished alumni, community impact and the beauty of its 35-acre campus.

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