Bay Path Recognized by U.S. News & World Report Among Top Schools for Social Mobility

LONGMEADOW — Bay Path University has been ranked ninth on U.S. News & World Report’s annual list of Top Performers for Social Mobility in the North. Bay Path was the only school in Massachusetts to appear in the top 10.

U.S. News & World Report’s social-mobility ranking is a measure of how well schools graduate economically disadvantaged students. Rankings were determined by looking at the number of enrolled students receiving Pell Grants, assessing the graduation rates of those students, and comparing those rates to the graduations of non-Pell-eligible students.

“Being recognized as a top performer for social mobility clearly illustrates the power of a Bay Path education. Our mission of providing an innovative, career-focused education to learners for whom a college degree is transformative — personally, professionally, and financially — is what continually motivates us,” Bay Path President Sandra Doran said. “This ranking affirms the dedication of our faculty and the drive of our learners.”

In recent years, U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges rankings and the attention they garner have been cited for perpetuating a culture of exclusion and feeding persistent inequalities. Critics champion the Social Mobility Index, which measures the extent to which a college or university educates more economically disadvantaged students (with family incomes below the national median) at lower tuition and graduates them into well-paying jobs.

“For many colleges, like Bay Path, our guiding principles are to expand access, increase opportunities, and strengthen the support we can offer our learners,” Doran said. “We see prestige in a mission that recognizes the talents and potential in all learners who have that drive to go further.”