Georgia State Scores High In Brookings Institution Research On Social Mobility

ATLANTA—Georgia State University ranks among the top 25 universities in the U.S. in promoting social mobility, according to new research by the Brookings Institution.

Brookings researchers looked at 342 selective public universities in the U.S. and studied how the universities contributed to the public good through either social mobility, significant contributions to research or both.

Georgia State ranked 25th overall in the study, scoring high in both categories. Researchers found that the university, which is among institutions in the U.S. enrolling the largest number of low-income students, helped students achieve a median income of $82,200 after graduation. They also scored Georgia State highly for producing high levels of research contributing to the public good.

The study evaluated the institutions using tax data from the Equality of Opportunity Project at Stanford University and independent rankings from the Carnegie Foundation, which assesses universities’ research activity levels through the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

At 25th, Georgia State ranked first in Georgia.  Georgia Tech, ranked 70th, was the only other institution in the state to make Brookings list of national leaders in social mobility.

“The Brookings study captures why higher education is such an important public good.  Every year, Georgia State not only helps to transform the lives of thousands of students,” said Timothy M. Renick, vice president for enrollment management and student success at Georgia State. “It also helps to create a skilled workforce, higher employment levels, a better tax base, and cutting-edge research that spurs economic growth.”

Over the past year, almost 10,000 students have graduated from Georgia State – an all-time high.

Georgia State is nationally recognized for student success initiatives which have increased graduation rates, reduced the time to earning a degree and eliminated achievement gaps based on race, ethnicity or income. The institution has used predictive analytics in advising, rethought academic support, and created new ways to meet students’ financial challenges, ultimately expanding educational opportunity and achievement.

For more about student success initiatives at Georgia State, visit https://success.gsu.edu.

The Brookings Institution report, “Ladders, labs, or laggards? Which public universities contribute most,” is available, along with the report’s data, at https://www.brookings.edu/research/ladders-labs-or-laggards-which-public-universities-contribute-most/.