Wingate again considered among the best for social mobility

by Chuck Gordon

Once again, Wingate University is being recognized for its efforts to narrow the socioeconomic divide.

A pair of recent national rankings highlight the University's effectiveness in helping students climb the socioeconomic ladder. This week, U.S. News and World Report placed Wingate second among independent universities in North Carolina in terms of social mobility. Wingate ranks behind Duke University and is eighth overall (the top six are all public universities).

Nationally, Wingate is tied with N.C. State University, CalTech, Syracuse University and four others for 153rd place.

Also, this summer Third Way Education released its latest Economic Mobility Index, in which it slots all colleges and universities into quintiles based on student outcomes. Once again, Wingate ranks in the top tier. (Last year, Third Way stopped providing individual EMI rankings for schools; in 2022, it ranked Wingate 72nd nationally out of 1,300 schools.)

Third Way's formula considers the net price low-income students pay, those students' postcollege earnings, and the proportion of Pell Grant recipients served by the institution. For the past few years, about two-fifths of Wingate students have been eligible for a Pell Grant.

Dr. Rhett Brown, president of Wingate University, says that the rankings validate Wingate's approach to higher education: making a personal education in a small setting affordable to all. According to data from College Scorecard, a Wingate degree provides, on average, $1 million more in lifetime earnings than a degree from a public college or university in North Carolina.

"This ranking confirms why I believe Wingate is, pound for pound, the most consequential university in North Carolina," Brown says. "Here's why I say that: our value. Wingate matters in ways other universities can't or don't because of the students we serve and how we serve them. Said another way, the quality of a Wingate education and what students earn after graduation far exceeds what families pay out of pocket or borrow."

Sept. 25, 2024