UTEP Among Best Universities for Social Mobility
Last Updated on September 23, 2019 at 12:00 AM
Originally published September 23, 2019
By UC Staff
UTEP Communications
The University of Texas at El Paso is one of the best institutions in the country for helping students realize the American Dream, according to MarketWatch, a U.S. financial news website.
A recent column in the publication shows that UTEP is one of the 10 best U.S. colleges and universities for student upward mobility. The article is based on a study that lists UTEP among the most effective universities in helping graduates move from family incomes in the lowest 20% (below $25,000 a year) to the top 20% (at least $110,000 a year).
The study refers to the ability to foster this ascent in income as a university’s “mobility rate.” At UTEP, almost 25 percent of graduates from the poorest backgrounds reach the uppermost income quintile, giving UTEP a 6.8% mobility rate – higher than all but eight universities in America.
“UTEP is a great education at a price families can afford,” UTEP President Heather Wilson said. “An education with us propels a family to the middle class and above.”
UTEP has been lauded for its ability to help students navigate financial challenges. Earlier this year, the campus’ comprehensive array of funding sources in support of its students received a major enhancement with the introduction of the PayDirt Promise, which covers tuition and mandatory fees for students whose families make $40,000 per year or less.
In 2017, a study released by the Brookings Institution ranked UTEP No. 1 for performing well in both research and social mobility. The study examined the performance of 342 public universities along two value dimensions that are commonly used to justify public investments in them: research productivity and student social mobility.
Learn more at utep.edu/social-mobility.
