Wingate is No. 1 in North Carolina in social mobility among independent national universities, according to new rankings announced today by U.S. News & World Report. A separate ranking from Third Way Education featured this week in The Washington Post places Wingate tops in N.C. among private universities for economic mobility.
One of only 10 schools in the Tar Heel state to be ranked in the top 20 percent nationally in terms of economic mobility, Wingate was fourth among all North Carolina schools, with a national ranking of No. 72. In Greater Charlotte, UNC Charlotte was the only other Tier 1 school, and it ranked No. 112.
U.S. News & World Report also ranked Wingate second in North Carolina in ethnic diversity among independent national universities and fourth among all universities in North Carolina.
“We live out our vision to be an affordable, inclusive, relevant and sustainable university by supporting a broad range of students,” said Dr. Rhett Brown, Wingate University president. “To simply focus on high achievers or become more exclusive degrades the reason we exist: to provide a quality education for students who can afford us least but need us most. As a first-generation college student, I’m just one example of how this place changes the trajectory of people’s lives. We’re doing the same for our students of color, immigrants, and adult learners. I’m proud that our meaningful, life-changing work has been recognized nationally.”
Third Way rankings measure how well institutions serve their low-income students, in addition to the proportion of low- and moderate-income students a school enrolls.
The think tank looks at the difference between a typical salary of a high school graduate in the state where the university is located and the salary of a graduate from the university and compares that to the total average net price of earning the degree to come up with the number of years it will take the student to recoup their cost.
