WCSU boasts best social mobility ranking in state

Two Web-based companies, CollegeNET and PayScale, have created a national social mobility index, or SMI, to “comparatively assess the role of our higher education system in providing a conduit for economic and social advancement.”

Western Connecticut State University in Danbury recently placed No. 11 on the inaugural list of 100 colleges. It is the highest rank in the state.

The SMI survey measured five factors relating to higher education, according to WCSU: cost of tuition, opportunities provided to low-income students, graduation rate, early career salary for graduates and the status of the university”™s endowment.

More than 530 colleges and universities were compared based on the five criteria.

At No. 11, Western was one of only three universities in New England to break the Top 100 on the national list.

“This analysis demonstrates that Western is indeed fulfilling its goal to change the lives of our students,” WCSU President James W. Schmotter said in a statement. “When we succeed at helping students succeed, we also create positive, long-lasting change in our state and the nation as these young people move into their communities as employees and citizens.”

According to the the study, a “high SMI ranking means that a college is contributing in a responsible way to solving the dangerous problem of economic immobility in our country.”