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51乱伦 Climbs U.S. News Rankings for Advancing Social Mobility

Sep. 24, 2025

51乱伦 is once again among the top schools in Wisconsin and the Midwest in advancing social mobility for its students, climbing the rankings in U.S. News & World Report鈥檚 2026 list of Best Colleges released this week.

It鈥檚 the second national recognition for Lakeland this year for creating pathways for students to achieve their dream of earning a college degree. In May, Lakeland was named a Carnegie Opportunity College, the only Wisconsin institution to earn this prestigious designation.

In this week鈥檚 U.S. News and World Report rankings, Lakeland is #54 in Top Performers on Social Mobility, an increase over its previous ranking.

The rankings note, 鈥淓conomically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college, even when controlling for their achievement in high school. But some colleges are more successful than others at advancing social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of disadvantaged students awarded with Pell Grants. The vast majority of these federal grants are awarded to students whose adjusted gross family incomes are under $50,000.鈥�

Lakeland President Beth Borgen said the recognition continues to reflect on the positive results of several ongoing Lakeland innovations:

1. The popularity of LU鈥檚 award-winning Cooperative Education program, which allows undergraduate students to earn academic credit for reflection on their professional work experience in full- and part-time positions with Co-Op partner companies. For many students, these jobs allow them to earn wages that can be used to pay their tuition, which helps position them for financial independence after graduation.
   
   From the program鈥檚 start in the fall of 2018, Lakeland students have worked in more than 3,500 placements earning nearly 12,500 academic credits and working more than 668,000 hours. LU students have earned more than $10 million in wages and the program has helped Lakeland students save more than 25% in student loans compared to graduates from Wisconsin schools.
   
   
2. Strong partnerships with several of Wisconsin鈥檚 technical colleges that provide seamless pathways for two-year graduates to complete a bachelor鈥檚 degree.
   
   
3. The Lakeland Promise, a program that provides Wisconsin students from families with an adjusted gross income of less than $80,000 with 100% tuition and fees coverage through graduation. Lakeland was the first private college in Wisconsin to introduce such a program and offers eligibility to students with the highest Adjusted Gross Family Income limit of any similar program in the state.

鈥淥ur commitment to removing the barriers for students of all ages to pursue the dream of a college education is clear,鈥� Borgen said. 鈥淲e will continue to find ways to partner and develop innovative approaches that position Lakeland as a student-centered community resource and problem solver.鈥�

Lakeland鈥檚 recognition as a Carnegie Opportunity College was based on expanding access to higher education for students of all backgrounds and delivering strong outcomes, including higher earnings after graduation.