New Carnegie classification casts light on UTSA’s excellence in advancing social mobility

APRIL 24, 2025 — The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) has earned the designation as an Opportunity College and University by the Carnegie Classifications, which recognizes UTSA as a national model for fostering student success and promoting social mobility.

The Opportunity Colleges and Universities designation is part of a newly developed Student Access and Earnings Classification published this month by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education. This new classification examines the extent to which institutions foster opportunities for student success by measuring whether institutions are enrolling students reflective of the communities they serve and how the earnings of those students compare to peers in their area.

There are an estimated 5,900-plus postsecondary institutions in the United States, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. UTSA is one of only 479 institutions that were identified as Opportunity Colleges and Universities in 2025, which makes up about 16% of all U.S. colleges and universities in the Student Access and Earnings Classification.

“The new Opportunity Colleges and Universities classification is critically important for evaluating postgraduate student success outcomes,” said UTSA President Taylor Eighmy. “UTSA’s designation affirms our commitment to creating pathways for student success that increase opportunities for social mobility, all while growing the knowledge economy and building the workforce pipeline for the region.”

“UTSA’s designation affirms our commitment to creating pathways for student success that increase opportunities for social mobility, all while growing the knowledge economy and building the workforce pipeline for the region.”

UTSA and the other universities that earned this Opportunity Colleges Carnegie designation were lauded in large part for “higher access” and “higher earnings.” Simply put, they are expanding paths to bachelor’s and graduate degrees for their communities, and their students earn higher average incomes than their peers after graduation.

Making college more affordable has been a consistent goal for UTSA, where 75% of students receive financial aid and 45% of students are Pell Grant recipients. The university has strategically removed financial barriers that often prevent high school graduates from going to college and has put measures in place to make sure students succeed once they arrive. UTSA has centered and aligned many university resources, integrating innovative academic technologies and creating student support programs that help students grow into academic success and find a sense of belonging that promotes success.

In addition to those efforts, UTSA’s Bold Promise and Bold Scholars programs were created to offer financial assistance and on-campus housing that magnify student success. Initially launched in 2019, Bold Promise provides full tuition to eligible Texas students who rank in the top 25% of their high school class and have household incomes up to $100,000 (previously $70,000). Since its inception, more than 4,000 students have benefited from the program, and 67% of Bold Promise students have been first-generation college students.

Initiatives like these ensure that fewer financial hurdles stand in the way of talented students who want to pursue a high-quality college education. UTSA graduates now leave school with $5,000 less in student loan debt than the national average and $4,000 less than the state average, further demonstrating the university’s commitment to affordability and student success. In fact, 39% of current UTSA students graduate with no loan debt — a number that has increased by 10% over the last decade.

“At UTSA, we believe every student should have access to a high-quality education that empowers them to build a better future,” said Heather Shipley, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “This Carnegie designation affirms our commitment to student success and social mobility. By removing barriers and building a strong ecosystem of support, we’re helping more students graduate with less debt and greater opportunity — proving what’s possible when access and excellence go hand in hand.”

This new Carnegie classification comes near the end of an academic year in which UTSA has been repeatedly hailed for its excellence as a driver of upward social mobility for its graduates. In September, Forbes ranked UTSA No. 127 among public universities on its list of America’s Top Colleges, highlighting how UTSA supports students from various financial backgrounds and prepares them for long-term success. The ranking placed a strong emphasis on factors like return on investment (ROI), alumni salary, student debt and graduation rates.

Weeks later, U.S. News & World Report slated UTSA at No. 44 among 433 institutions recognized as top performers on social mobility. This ranking honors universities that are more successful than others at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of students with economic disadvantages. The Wall Street Journal and College Pulse also placed UTSA among the top 12% of institutions advancing social mobility in the U.S. Their analysis from the previous year found that UTSA offered the “best value” among public universities in Texas, which identified how quickly students could pay for the net cost of their education based on the average salary boost their institution’s degree provided.

ROI has been an important factor for many students who have chosen to attend UTSA in recent years, and Roadrunners are increasingly seeing life-transforming returns on their investment. On average, those who earn a degree at UTSA make $28,000 per year more than high school graduates in San Antonio. Even the most recent UTSA graduates are getting a leg up as they enter the workforce. The average salary of all UTSA students who graduated in the last three years is $65,000, well above the average salaries in the San Antonio metro area ($54,060) and Texas at large ($57,300).

“I am deeply proud of our efforts around social mobility and ROI,” Eighmy said. “Our student success outcomes are a testament to our phenomenal faculty and staff who go above and beyond every day to provide world-class opportunities for our students.”

UTSA’s designation as an Opportunity College and University is the third notable classification bestowed upon the university by Carnegie.

UTSA received the Community Engagement Classification in 2015, acknowledging the institution’s “dynamic and noteworthy” community outreach efforts in San Antonio and its impact on the global community through teaching and research, public service, volunteerism, civic partnerships and economic development. UTSA is one of only 369 institutions to hold the Community Engagement Classification.

Most notably, perhaps, UTSA attained the prestigious Carnegie R1 classification for very high research activity in 2021. A significant milestone in UTSA’s strategic vision, earning the elite R1 research designation validated the breadth and strength of UTSA’s knowledge enterprise and firmly put the university in the pantheon of the nation’s top public and private research institutions. UTSA’s Carnegie R1 classification was reaffirmed earlier this year.

The methodology for Carnegie’s new Student Access and Earnings Classification uses multidimensional groupings of the 2025 Institutional Classification to evaluate student access and earnings between similar colleges and universities. More information about 2025 Student Earnings and Access Classifications, including the methodology, can be found here.

As UTSA and UT Health San Antonio prepare to merge and integrate into one premier global university, both institutions have been recognized in the Student Access and Earnings Classification by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on Education.

— Shea Conner