A Powerhouse of Social Mobility: Queensborough Rated in the Top Public Community Colleges in U.S. for Highest Student Mobility Rates
Queensborough Community College is ranked in the top ten two-year public colleges across the country, and in the top five community colleges within the City University of New York (CUNY), for its great success in moving low-income students into the middle class.
Queensborough’s strong showing is the result of a study by The Chronicle of Higher Education measuring the mobility rate of students between 19 and 22 years of age “who had parents in the bottom 20 percent of the national income distribution among those in their birth cohort, and … reached the top 20 percent of the national income distribution for their birth cohort.”
“For more than fifty years, Queensborough’s high-quality academic programs and affordable tuition have propelled students into the middle-class and beyond,” said Dr. Diane B. Call, President of Queensborough Community College. “I am proud that our students, mentored by award-winning faculty, graduate prepared to compete in a global workforce, and move on to contribute to our local and national economies.”
The Chronicle’s widely reported study of colleges’ impact on social mobility was conducted by a team led by Stanford University economics professor Raj Chetty. Their 2017 paper, “Mobility Report Cards: The Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility,” tracked students from nearly every U.S. college, including non-graduates, and measured their subsequent earnings against millions of anonymous tax filings and financial-aid records. They looked to see how well colleges helped students whose parents were in the bottom 20 percent of income levels reach the top 20 percent for individual earnings.
Queensborough Community College of The City University of New York (CUNY) is one of the most diverse campuses in the nation. Students come from more than 140 different countries, speaking 78 different languages, and more than 30 percent speak a language other than English at home. Queensborough is a critical gateway into higher education for many students who are the first in their families to attend college. The College is committed to open-admission access for all learners and provides a comprehensive educational experience for students through its rigorous academic programs, faculty-led research opportunities, and a personalized advisement program.
The Queensborough Academies are a nationally recognized student support initiative that serves all full-time degree students from the moment they enter to graduation and beyond. The initiative has yielded a significant increase in student retention and graduation rates. Queensborough is one of the few community colleges in the country offering such a program on this scale.
The College has several Dual/Joint Degree programs with four-year CUNY institutions: Nursing with Hunter College, York College and CUNY School of Professional Studies; Biotechnology with York College; Criminal Justice, Accounting for Forensic Accounting, and Science for Forensics with John Jay College of Criminal Justice; Education with Queens College and Pharmaceutical Sciences with York College.
Queensborough Community College has become the only community college in New York and one of only 19 community colleges in the country to receive accreditation from the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). In addition, Queensborough is now one of only eight community colleges out of 189 nationwide with an accredited theatre program.
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