WABE-901FM/NPR Reporter Martha Dalton explained today that the study examined students who came from families in the bottom 20 percent of income distribution (earning less than $25,000 annually). Researchers combined that result with the percentage of students who reach the top 20 percent of income distribution ($60,000 in 2014) in their mid-thirties. CAU (and Spelman) had an economic mobility rate of 3.3 percent, placing the University in the top 12 percent of colleges nationwide.
“This report affirms our work here at Clark Atlanta University,” President Ronald A. Johnson said. “We are focused on transforming students of promise—young men and women possessing not only tremendous intellect, but what we consider a sense of ‘grit,’ a hunger to learn, to acquire diverse new experiences and, of course, to succeed—into scholars, leaders, entrepreneurs and innovators. Our recent efforts to realign our curriculum and provide opportunities to earn stackable credentials will only increase our efficacy in realizing this goal.” Johnson also added that the report affirms Clark Atlanta’s contribution as an economic catalyst in the metro-Atlanta, Georgia and ultimately the global economy.
“We are indeed proud to learn this great news,” the President noted, “but we are not complacent. We are redefining higher education and there is much more for us to do.”
To read the NPR report, click or paste this link: http://news.wabe.org/post/report-colleges-can-level-playing-field-low-income-students
To read the full research report, click or paste this link: http://www.equality-of-opportunity.org/papers/coll_mrc_paper.pdf
