Tuesday, August 29, 2023
  Announcements, Around Campus

By News and Internal Communications

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – AUG. 29, 2023 – UTRGV has been ranked sixth in the United States among all public and private universities in offering students high economic opportunity and mobility.   

Third Way, a national nonprofit think tank, announced the ranking in a recent report – the 2023 Economic Mobility Index (EMI) – which featured 1,409 U.S. higher education institutions. 

UTRGV had an EMI of 57.2 percent and was the only University of Texas System school ranked in the Top 10.  In addition, based on Fall 2022 enrollment numbers, UTRGV ranked No. 1 both nationally and in Texas in EMI among universities with more than 30,000 students. For the fourth straight year, UTRGV on Monday recorded first-day enrollment of more than 32,000 students for Fall 2023.  

Introduced in 2022, the EMI is different from traditional rankings as it measures institutional value and highlights institutions that are fulfilling higher education’s purpose of promoting economic mobility for their students.

UTRGV President Guy Bailey said it is important to consider the size of the enrollment among the Top 10.

“We are easily the largest university among the schools that are ranked in the Top 10, and that says a lot about what we’ve been able to accomplish,” Bailey said. “It’s one thing to do it on a small scale, but to do it at our scale reflects our commitment to student success and to transforming the Rio Grande Valley. UTRGV is proud to be the Valley’s higher education institution.”

According to Third Way, “institutions faring well on the EMI go above and beyond to ensure that their students can finance their education sustainably and receive demonstrated return on investment from their college credential.” 

Helping move the economic mobility needle and assisting with financial aid are UTRGV programs like Tuition Advantage, Luminary Scholars, the Vaqueros MD Early Assurance Program. 

Also, the addition of numerous master’s and doctoral programs – Ph.D. in Materials Science an Engineering, Doctor of Physical Therapy, and Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration – has expanded educational opportunities and has made it highly affordable for advanced study at UTRGV.  

Through partnerships with key programs like TRiO Student Support Services (SSS) and GEAR UP, and the opening of three Collegiate High Schools in Edinburg, Harlingen and McAllen, UTRGV is increasing retention and graduation rates for financially challenged or first-generation students.    

Details about Third Way’s methodology to generate the rankings can be found in the 2023 report.

fy-23-24 thirdway ranking
Infographic by UTRGV Creative Services.



ABOUT UTRGV

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.

UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including in Boca Chica Beach, Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City, and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015, and the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016.