Cumberlands is top university in state for social mobility

In general, the average college graduate earns higher wages and is less likely to be unemployed than a person without a college degree.¹ In other words, obtaining a degree presents an opportunity for someone from a lower-income background to “climb the ladder” into a higher-income situation. The term U.S. News uses to describe that transformation is “social mobility.”

Though anyone can achieve social mobility with a combination of ingenuity, perseverance, and a strong work ethic over time, one avenue through which many young people in America climb the socioeconomic ladder is through attending college. Good colleges facilitate higher learning, business networking, and opportunities to strengthen social and professional skills, meaning graduates have the chance to be more knowledgeable, mature adults upon receiving their degrees than when they entered college as freshmen. When those traits are coupled with having low – or zero – student loan debt, the graduates are on track for a higher-income, more stable socioeconomic future.

That isn’t every college graduate’s story, but, according to a recent ranking by U.S. News, it’s a higher probability for graduates from University of the Cumberlands than for students who graduate from other Kentucky universities. In general, Cumberlands students acquire lower student loan debt than students who attend most other Kentucky universities. In fact, approximately one-fourth of Cumberlands graduates don’t have to pay back any loans after graduation. Not only do these students graduate into potentially higher income brackets than what they were raised in, they also generally have less debt to pay off than their peers. When it comes to finances, that’s a win-win scenario.

Take Robbie Garvin, a first-generation college student and recent graduate from the university, who grew up in a lower-income household in Georgia before attending Cumberlands on football and wrestling scholarships.

“At an early age, I understood that it would take sacrifices to help advance our family and our quality of life as a whole,” said Garvin. “Thankfully, I was blessed to earn scholarships, but that’s not the case for everybody. By lowering tuition 57 percent, UC opened so many doors for people who want to add quality education to their professional toolkit without breaking the bank.”

He added, “The university isn’t shy about developing leaders. And they offer a way of networking with people from various cultures and regions of the world that sets you apart in the workplace. I’m thankful for my time at UC and how it continues to bless my family.”

Today, Garvin enjoys steady employment and is married to a fellow Cumberlands alumnus. The couple shares one son. 

The Zecchini sisters are additional examples of social mobility in action, with the two oldest graduating from Cumberlands and the third sister currently pursuing a degree at the university. The sisters grew up in an impoverished area of Tennessee, and their family lived from paycheck to paycheck, often on a single income. The second-oldest, Jordan, explained her financial situation in college and how it differed from some of her peers.

“I remember coming to college and making several friends who had cars their parents had given them. That floored me,” she said. “My mom couldn’t afford to give us cell phones, let alone cars. Sometimes I didn’t even have money to help my friends pay for gas when we carpooled places, even though I wanted to help. I was always pretty stressed about money.”

After Cumberlands reset its tuition reset – and after Jordan was chosen to work on campus as a resident assistant, which provided a scholarship – her loan amounts decreased, and her out-of-pocket costs per semester went down from almost $2,000 to just over $20.

Today, Jordan has a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Cumberlands as well a full-time job with benefits at the university. For the first time in her life, Jordan has gotten to experience several months when she didn’t have to live paycheck to paycheck; she actually had money left over she could save.

Her younger sister Emily commuted to a local college for a couple years before transferring to Cumberlands to live on campus and enjoy the full college experience. Her top priorities in college have been affordability and career preparation.

“A lot of people from my hometown don’t even attempt college because they’re only thinking of short-term costs. I try to look more long-term and think of all the possibilities,” Emily said. “I mean, yeah, nobody is guaranteed a certain job or salary after college, but I am thinking of the long run, and, if you work hard, it will be worth it.”

She added, “I might have grown up in the trenches, but you can get out of them if you work hard. Seeing my oldest sister Candace’s life, she’s worked hard, and she’s made it. When you’re happy with the life you’ve made, that means you’ve made it.”

Being obvious living examples of social mobility isn’t every Cumberlands student’s story, but many can relate. One-fourth of undergraduate students at Cumberlands are first-generation college students pioneering their way through higher education. Nearly half of the university’s on-campus undergraduates who are learning professional and life skills through a campus work-study position are first-generation students. Additionally, the school provides UC scholarships to the majority of its undergraduate on-campus students, making education more accessible. To learn more about financial aid at Cumberlands, visit www.ucumberlands.edu/financial-aid.

1 https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm