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U.S. News & World Report Ranks Buffalo State High for Social Mobility, Economic Diversity

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Buffalo State College ranked prominently on a number of lists published by U.S. News & World Report this week. In the U.S. News & World Report 2022 Best Colleges publication, Buffalo State ranked 10th in the North Region for economic diversity, 20th for social mobility, and tied in 32nd place for top public colleges in the North out of more than 170 institutions in the region.

Now in its 37th year, U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges assesses 1,466 U.S. bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on 17 measures of academic quality. The magazine uses multiple measures to capture the various dimensions of academic quality at each college in nine broad areas: graduation and retention, graduation rate performance, graduate indebtedness, social mobility, faculty resources, expert opinion, financial resources, student excellence, and alumni giving.

The recognitions that Buffalo State received in social mobility and economic diversity reflect the urban-engaged college’s ability to help low-income and first-generation college students obtain an economically stable and fulfilling life after graduation.

“Buffalo State’s commitment to lifting up students toward a better future is embedded in our mission. We take great pride in providing students from all backgrounds with the opportunity to find careers that not only match their passions and aptitudes but also earn them a middle-class or higher living.”

- Katherine Conway-Turner, Ph.D., President, Buffalo State College

“Buffalo State’s commitment to lifting up students toward a better future is embedded in our mission,” said Buffalo State President Katherine Conway-Turner. “We take great pride in providing students from all backgrounds with the opportunity to find careers that not only match their passions and aptitudes but also earn them a middle-class or higher living.”

Buffalo State was previously recognized for its success in helping economically disadvantaged students reach the middle class and beyond by CollegeNET. In 2020, the Portland, Oregon-based company providing technologies to colleges, universities, and nonprofits ranked Buffalo State 82nd out of 1,380 benchmarked schools in its Social Mobility Index (SMI) national rankings.

U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 economic diversity category looked at the number of students receiving federal Pell grants during the 2019–2020 academic year. Recipients typically come from families whose annual income is less than $50,000, although most Pell Grants go to students with a total family income below $20,000. U.S. News & World Report believes that Pell figures are the best available gauge of institutions’ relative commitment to access for all.

Meanwhile, the social mobility category measured the extent to which colleges and universities enroll and graduate students who receive Pell Grants, and how six-year graduation rates of Pell grant recipients compare with those of students who did not receive Pell grants. This data was derived from enrollment numbers beginning in fall 2013 and fall 2014.

With more than 15 measures of academic quality, the web version of U.S. News 2022 Best Colleges provides data-driven information and guidance to help prospective students and their families understand their higher education options, said Mark White, vice president of U.S. News & World Report. The news magazine will also publish most of the rankings with robust data sets in the Best Colleges 2022 guidebook, which will be available in bookstores on November 2.