KINGSVILLE (November 7, 2022) — Texas A&M University-Kingsville was named a Top Performer in Social Mobility, as determined by U.S. News and World Report. The publication ranked the university among the top 10 public universities in Texas to make the list’s Top 100. The university ranked #75 in the nation.
The social mobility designation factors in the number of Pell grant-awarded students a school enrolls and how many of those students then graduate with their degree, looking at six-year graduation rates. U.S. News and World Report notes the majority of Pell grants are awarded to students whose families have an adjusted gross income under $50,000.
“We know earning a degree can be life-changing for a student and their family and even more so for those who are awarded Pell grants in order to fund their education,” Dr. Robert Vela Jr., president of Texas A&M-Kingsville, said. “To be acknowledged for providing a world-class, affordable and ultimately an attainable education to our students is an honor.”
The publication assessed 1,500 institutions across the nation, and the ranking methodology looked at a school’s academic data, enrollment figures and degree completion rates of students who entered institutions in Fall 2015, as reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Social mobility was assessed by evaluating two factors: a university’s Pell recipient graduation rates and Pell graduation performance, which compared six-year graduation rates among students who received Pell assistance and those who didn’t.
In Texas A&M-Kingsville’s 2015 student cohort, Pell grant recipients made up 55% of students enrolled at the university. When it came to graduation rates, of the university’s 2015 student cohort that graduated in 2021, Pell grant recipients made up nearly 51% of the graduates.