CollegeNET Inc., a leading provider of web-based on-demand technologies for higher education and the developer of the Social Mobility Index (SMI), has presented its 2019 Social Mobility Innovator Awards to 10 student success professionals from six universities across the nation.

Wichita State University, represented by Provost Richard Muma and Director of Student Success Kim Sandlin, was one of the winners.

The Social Mobility Index ranks nearly 1,400 four-year U.S. colleges and universities according to how successfully they enroll students from low-income backgrounds and graduate them into promising careers. The goal of the SMI is to help redirect the attribution of "prestige" in the higher education system toward colleges and universities that are advancing economic mobility, the most pressing civic issue of our time.

At a July summit, Muma and Sandlin provided insights into some of WSU’s student success efforts that include the university’s multi-year and institution-wide commitment to recruiting and retaining students from historically under-served and under-represented populations in Dallas-Fort Worth, Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Kansas City.

The impact of this innovative practice on the local and regional economy, and the importance of standardizing retention practices and coordination of services to increase the quality of student services, were also discussed.

Individuals from the following universities were also recognized as outstanding student success professionals:

• Winston-Salem State University
• Rutgers University - Newark
• University of California, San Diego
• University of California, Santa Cruz
• New Mexico State University

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The mission of Wichita State University is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master's and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State's Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.