US News & World Report Names York College Top Performer

US News & World Report's 2020 College Rankings has identified York College as a top performer in the new social mobility category for Colleges in the Midwest Region, based on a variety of metrics. These rankings demonstrate the ongoing success York College has had helping students with fewer economic resources to achieve their educational goals.

For 35 years U.S. News & World Report has gathered research and statistics to provide students with helpful information as they search for a college or university. This year the U.S. News & World Report added a Social Mobility ranking to evaluate how well colleges serve students from low-income families. Kim Castor, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News, said, “We’ve found the best institutions to be ones committed to academically and financially supporting their students through graduation. They draw in high-quality professors and set students up for postgraduate success.”

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York College is featured as #4 in Top Performers on Social Mobility among regional colleges in the Midwest. The ranking took into consideration the enrollment and graduation rates of economically disadvantaged students. The colleges that are more successful in this area have higher graduation rates of students awarded Pell Grants. For the fall semester, roughly 43% of incoming York College students, who applied for Federal Aid, received Pell Grant money. Most federal grants, like the Pell Grant, are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000. 

President Steve Eckman, responding to the study, said, “It’s gratifying to receive a third-party endorsement for our focus on helping every student reach his or her goals. Our pricing and our personal attention has always focused on the dreams and needs of every student as an individual, and that focus makes a difference for our students every day. Years ago, we recognized the need to minimize cost as a barrier for a student to have the York Experience, and we are committed to that promise for all prospective students and their families.”
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In order to rank each institution, a Pell Grant graduation rate performance was determined by dividing each school’s six-year graduation rate among Pell recipients into its six-year graduation rate among non-Pell recipients, then adjusted to give more credit to schools with larger Pell student proportions. The best scores were found among schools with a higher Pell graduation rate compared to its non-Pell graduation rate. 

York College was also recognized in the top quartile for ethnic diversity among Midwest Regional Colleges. In recent years 40% of York College students identified as racial or ethnic minorities.