WYOMISSING, Pa. — Penn State Berks has been recognized nationally for its commitment to providing access for students from all socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds and preparing those students to earn higher wages. The college was named to the prestigious Carnegie Opportunity Colleges and Universities – High Access, High Earnings Classification. Of the over 3,700 U.S. institutions evaluated, only 478 — or 16% — received this designation, which runs through 2028.
“Providing access and opportunity to students from all socioeconomic backgrounds and cultures is a defining feature of who we are at Penn State Berks. As part of a land-grant university, it is our North Star and central to our values,” said Radha Pyati, chancellor and dean of Penn State Berks. “We offer a variety of opportunities, like Aspiring Scholars and Engineering Ahead, two examples of summer bridge programs that help students from diverse backgrounds and get a jump start on college.”
The Opportunity College classification is Carnegie’s highest designation for colleges and universities that facilitate social and economic mobility. It is part of the newly redesigned Carnegie Student Access and Earnings Classification, a system that evaluates how effectively institutions of higher education create pathways to success for students from diverse backgrounds.
Pyati explained, “Penn State Berks is an economic driver in Berks County and beyond, and we are committed to preparing our students for success and economic mobility in the workforce of today — and tomorrow. It is part of our mission.”
According to the Carnegie website: “When the Carnegie Classifications introduced the Student Access and Earnings Classification, we set out to more fully explore what plenty of research has already shown: Higher education is a reliable engine of social and economic mobility for students nationwide. The Student Access and Earnings Classification is about measuring what matters: whether students are benefitting from the promise of higher education, especially those who have the most to gain from going to college.”
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education is the nation’s leading framework for categorizing U.S. higher education institutions, developed by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Check out this fact sheet for more information about the classification.