KINGSVILLE — Texas A&M University-Kingsville is among the top 4 percent of universities in the country when it comes to social mobility, according to the latest ranking U.S. News and World Report’s 2024 Best Colleges rankings. The University is tied for 6th in social mobility among public Texas universities.
In addition, the University ranks among the top 15 public universities in Texas, placing at #14, the highest-ranking Texas A&M University System on the list, behind Texas A&M University, which ranked 2nd.
The publication ranked the university as #58 in the nation for social mobility, a gain in position from last year’s rankings where it placed at #75.
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.
“Social mobility is intrinsic to our institution’s mission,” said Texas A&M-Kingsville President Dr. Robert Vela Jr. “Texas A&M-Kingsville has been changing the lives of our graduates for nearly a century, preparing them well for multi-generational prosperity that transforms their lives and the future of their families. This national recognition affirms our commitment to promoting social mobility and ensuring that our graduates are career-ready and equipped to meet the meets of our evolving region.”
For their 2024 rankings, U.S. News and World Report revamped their ranking criteria, dropping some factors while increasing others and adding new ones to better measure academic quality and graduate outcomes. As part of their methodology revamp, the publication increased the weight of how often students from all socioeconomic backgrounds earned their degrees and utilized information on graduate outcomes, a factor they note is, “universally important to prospective students.”
U.S. News and World Report assessed nearly 1,500 institutions across the nation, and ranking methodology looked at a school’s academic data, enrollment figures and degree completion rates of students. 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 did not.
Pell grant recipients made up just over 55% of Texas A&M-Kingsville's full-time, first-time undergraduate cohort in 2016, according to the University’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. When it came to the 6-year graduation rates of the university’s 2016 student cohort which graduated Spring 2023, Pell grant recipients made up 50% of the graduates.