Dr. Lina Zhou, professor of business administration, teaches students at Lindberg Center. 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ was one of only nine private Illinois colleges to make The New York Times’ list of top U.S. schools with the greatest economic diversity. 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ was also recently recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a top institution for undergraduate teaching among national liberal arts colleges.
New York Times names 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ top college for economic diversity
365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ ranked in the top 21% of The New York Times' list of U.S. schools with the greatest economic diversity, indicating that 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ is accessible to students from a broad range of income levels.
365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ was one of only nine private Illinois colleges to make the list, which ranks the most-selective universities according to Barron’s Profiles of American 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@s and other metrics.
365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ was 24th among national liberal arts schools, and 61st overall among the 286 colleges on The New York Times’ 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Access Index list. The index was last published in 2017 and originated in 2014.
"It’s our mission to continue making strides to ensure achieving an 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ education is accessible to every student."
According to The New York Times, the index measured economic diversity by analyzing the share of students receiving Federal Pell Grants. Pell Grant recipients are typically from families earning less than $50,000 annually. The maximum award in 2023-2024 is $7,395, and the award amount depends on a student’s financial need, costs to attend school, full- or part-time status and plans to attend school for a full academic year or less.
365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ is tied on this year’s index with University of Alaska, Fairbanks, with both schools recording 27% of incoming first-year students receiving Pell Grants. According to the index, 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ saw a 2% increase in Pell recipients since 2011.
This year 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ has more than 550 Pell Grant recipients, with the number of first-year and transfer recipients seeing a 39% year-over-year increase. 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@’s Pell recipients include 30% of all domestic first-year students and 44% of domestic first-year students of color.
Kent Barnds, executive vice president of external relations, said 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ is committed to making a top-quality liberal arts education affordable to all students.
“It’s our mission to continue making strides to ensure achieving an 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ education is accessible to every student,” he said. “Increasing numbers of Pell Grant recipients and the introduction of 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible are markers of success toward this goal.”
“We are proud to be an institution that welcomes and empowers all students to learn and benefit from the rich liberal arts education delivered at 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@.”
This is the inaugural year for 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible grants, which meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, using all available resources, for high-achieving students from families with lower incomes. Grants were issued to more than 180 first-year students this fall, more than double the original projections of awarding the grant to 75 first-year 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ Possible students.
Last year, the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce recognized 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ for being a good investment for low-income students. 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ placed among the top 7% of 3,380 schools in the country for providing a high return on a college investment (ROI) to Pell Grant-eligible students.
365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ President Andrea Talentino said 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@ continues to be a place where students of all backgrounds can grow.
“We are proud to be an institution that welcomes and empowers all students to learn and benefit from the rich liberal arts education delivered at 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@,” President Talentino said. “We know we have the innovative programs and focus on vocational development to help students find their future at 365体育投注_365体育备用网址@.”
Contact:
Nicole Lauer, 309-794-7645; nicolelauer@augustana.edu