FSC Ranked Nationally for Giving Students a Chance at Upward Economic Mobility
February 10, 2020
Over the last year, FSC has been included in prestigious national polls and surveys, for the quality of programs, career-preparation of students, bang for the buck, and more. Now CollegeNET has named the College to its 2019 Social Mobility Index.
CollegeNET describes the Social Mobility Index this way: “It is a data-driven analysis that ranks four-year U.S. colleges and universities according to how effectively they enroll students from low-income backgrounds, and graduate them into well-paying jobs. Social Mobility Index differs from most other rankings in that it focuses directly on the factors that enable economic mobility. To what extent does a college or university educate more economically disadvantaged people (family incomes below the national median) at lower tuition so that they graduate into good paying jobs? The colleges that do the best at this, rank higher on the principle that growing economic disparity in this country is the most pressing problem of our time. Social Mobility Index seeks to redirect the attribution of ‘prestige’ in our higher education system toward colleges that are advancing economic opportunity and social mobility.”
“Once again, social mobility data places FSC grads in the top tier of nearly 1,500 colleges surveyed,” said President Nader. “The early median career salary of our students is among the top 2% in the nation, at $51,700. And FSC students graduated with a lower level of debt ($16,834) than any other four-year SUNY college on Long Island.”
CollegeNET President Jim Wolfston says: “Unlike other college rankings that are aimed primarily at helping students select a college, the Social Mobility Index helps families and policymakers determine which colleges are addressing the national problem of economic mobility. Administrators have a better chance to help strengthen U.S. economic mobility and the promise of the American Dream if they can identify and learn from colleges that are skilled at doing this.
“Given that the U.S. is now the least economically mobile among developed nations,” says Wolfston, “it is irresponsible to say an education institution is ‘better’ because it has a huge endowment, or because it admits students with higher SAT scores — which are most tightly correlated to family income. It is irresponsible to say an institution is ‘better’ because it drives up admissions application counts, turns away more students, and then boasts about ‘selectivity.’ In today’s world, where the American Dream is threatened, real prestige must accord to universities that educate and advance all motivated students, regardless of their economic background. This is the prestige that the Social Mobility Index seeks to promote.”
