Economic well-being is at the heart of Americans’ confidence in institutions of higher education. A college degree is a strong foundation for upward mobility, but access to higher education and its economic benefits is not equally available to all Americans. The perception and lived experience of this inequality undermine trust in higher education’s capacity to enable economic security. When citizens in a democracy feel that the system is rigged, they won’t stand up for that democracy.

Public Agenda’s Economic Mobility through Higher Education Initiative aims to expand opportunity by equipping college and university leaders and policymakers with evidence and tools to generate positive economic outcomes for students from low-income backgrounds. We identify effective policies and practices, document impacts, and translate findings into practical guidance and training for key decision-makers and those who can implement changes. By elevating contributions to the economic mobility of people with low-incomes as a core purpose of higher education, we seek to create alignment between the promise of a college degree and the economic reality for all Americans.

Access our resources, including an institutional planning guide and case studies, below:

View Our Economic Mobility Toolkit

How We Can Help

  • Institutional planning—full day and half day institutional planning support for teams
  • Leadership consulting—engagement with institutional and system leaders to build a vision for change
  • Policy consulting—engagement with state and federal policymakers to shape a higher education mobility agenda
  • Institutional assessments—tailored feedback on your institution or system identifying high-leverage opportunities and addressable barriers
  • Learning Community facilitation–support for resource and information sharing within and across institutions

For more information or to request a consultation, please contact Maggie Grove, Chief Strategy and Impact Officer, at [email protected].

Advisory Panel

Magdalena Hinojosa

Senior VP for Strategic Enrollment and Student Affairs, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Robert Kelchen

Professor and Department Head, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Mariam Lam

Vice Chancellor and Chief Diversity Officer, University of California, Riverside

Jordan Matsudaira

Professor of Public Administration and Policy, School of Public Affairs, American University

Featured Work