February 14, 2020
CollegeNET has named Farmingdale State College to its 2019 Social Mobility Index, 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.
"Once again, social mobility data places FSC grads in the top tier of nearly 1,500
colleges surveyed," says Dr. John S. Nader, President of Farmingdale State College.
"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."