UNC-Chapel Hill ranks as the No. 1 value in American public higher education, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine reported today.
For the 11th time in a row, UNC-CH ranked first on Kiplinger’s list of the 100 universities and colleges that provide the best value to in-state students. The magazine also listed Carolina No. 1 for the value offered to out-of-state students.
The new ranking appears in the February issue posted along with a related story this morning.
“Kiplinger’s takes a hard look at what we care most about at Carolina: providing a great education to a diverse student body at an affordable price,” Chancellor Holden Thorp said in a statement. “We established for the country the idea of higher education as a public good. So we are doubly proud to be recognized as one of America’s most accessible and high-quality public universities.”
The universities of Florida, Virginia and the College of William and Mary ranked second, third and fourth, followed by New College of Florida, and the universities of Georgia, California-Berkeley, Maryland at College Park, California at Los Angeles and California at San Diego. Other UNC system campuses on the list are UNC-Wilmington, 15th; NC State, 19th; Appalachian State, 33rd; UNC School of the Arts, 41st; and UNC-Asheville, 45th.
In a news release Kiplinger said it changed its methodology this year because of the economic challenges facing higher education. For academics, the formula considered the percentage of students returning as sophomores and the four-year graduation rate. The magazine favored campuses with low sticker prices and abundant financial aid, with bonus points for schools that keep student borrowing low.
Kiplinger’s calculated value for cost and financial aid (low sticker prices, generous need-based aid and percentage of need met) and student indebtedness (low average debt at graduation and low percentage of students who borrow). Other categories were competitiveness (high test scores among freshmen, a low admission rate and a high yield as measures of selectivity and “intellectual synergy”); graduation rates (maximum points for the four-year rate; half that amount for a strong six-year rate); and academic support (number of students per faculty and freshman retention rate).
Comments
Enough nonsense
Thu, 01/05/2012 - 14:18 — anitabadrockSome of these comments are so ridiculous....
UNC -CH's commitment to educate NC students is not in jeopardy. We still have one of the highest percentages of in-state students attending UNC of any public university in the USA. Out of state and international students bring diversity to the campus and break down cultural, economic, and socioeconomic barriers . Many finanically support the university after graduation. UNC's Carolina Covenant assures that very low income students can graduate from UNC debt free, which is something that (last I checked) no other major public university in America--or in North Carolina-- has committed publicly to do.
The research dollars that UNC attracts to its campus dwarfs the taxpayer contribution and provides thousands of local jobs. UNC's research activities is one of the major economic engines for the entire state.
UNC Students provide thousands of volunteer hours to organizations throughout the world. Faculty members and graduate assistants contribute to the enhancement of knowledge in many disciplines, and a lot of their work makes life better for the rest of us.
I am proud to be a Carolina Graduate--I came to school on a full scholarship after being raised by a single mom who had me when she was a teenager and worked swing shifts in a paper mill to pay the bills. I was the first generation of her side of the family to attend college. UNC gave me the education I needed to go out and do something good for the world and for my family.
Just a couple of examples of things that happened at UNC to change me for the better---before I came to UNC I had never gone to school with, hung out with, or eaten a meal with an African-American--my community was completely segregated--and I was fortunate enough to have a great African American roommate my freshman year who broke down a lot of cultural barriers for me.
I also attended school with two black women from South Africa while apartheid was still the policy. From them I learned first hand what was happening there and I became informed and politically active. I was fortunate enough to live in South Africa after apartheid ended and I heard first hand how valuable the support of ordinary Americans like me had been to this large group of oppressed people.
Without these experiences, I would probably still have many misconceptions of people of different races or nationalities.
My kids have the life they have--and so do I-- because UNC gave me an education--both in and out of the classroom-- and an opportunity. I am very proud to be a Tarheel!
Anita Whitmire Badrock, class of 1982
Amazing!
Wed, 01/04/2012 - 09:23 — fhblackHow many of these comments would be here if people had to use a real name and own their posts? It's time, N&O, and surely you know it too.
Yes indeed Fred. I'm
Thu, 01/05/2012 - 14:20 — anitabadrockYes indeed Fred. I'm amazed at what people will do if they think they aren't accountable. Definitely something I don't understand.
Kiplinger's execs run a PR firm.
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 22:31 — GreedbusterI did a little research on this Kiplinger's thing. It seems the email addresses of the media relations and executives is a public relations firm run by a Jewish lady at The Rosen Group. I never thought Chapel Hill would top the list this year after announcing a 40% increase in tuition over the next few years. Well, The Rosen Group changed the criteria citing a bad economy so they could keep UNC Chapel Hill in the #1 position. This ranking is meaningless and propaganda.
HA! HA! HA!
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 23:08 — bryant80Ha! Ha ! I love it! You haters never cease to amaze me "I did a little research".lmao. Get a life.What a joke.Ha! HA! Ha!
What do UNC and NCSU
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 22:08 — ReallyReallyWhat do UNC and NCSU students have in common? They were all accepted at NCSU! Enough said. For all you Carolina wannabes, READ IT AND WEEP!
Grade inflation
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 20:23 — riddickfieldIs a big part of these rankings. One of the main factors is the percentage of students that return for their sophomore year. If 85% of the grades you hand out are A's or B's, then you really aren't going to lose anyone, let alone weed out the dumb or lazy students. A better measure would be job placement stats in the degree you earned. I can't say that a lot of folks are looking for someone with an African Studies degree in the real world. Then there is the earning potential of the degrees earned. that should be a big factor in the value of an education and its completely ignored in these sorts of studies.
Little Campbell scored
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 19:17 — spotrayLittle Campbell scored higher on the bar than Carolina graduates did . Must not be so great/
Whats your point?Size makes the diff.???
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 23:14 — bryant80Another pitiful person.It's a PRIVATE school.Thats why it's small genius.HELLOOOO!It's also pretty expensive.
Orange County Diploma Mill
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 18:25 — martmatSpecializing in degrees in Swahili, plagiarism, and academic fraud.
Popular courses include Technology 216 - "Obstructing Justice with your Cell Phone Records"; Education 500 - "Advanced Athletic Tutoring for Dummmies"; and University Studies 100 - "They call it Arrogance; We call it the 'Carolina Way.'" (required for all incoming freshmen)
That was good! Made me
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 20:42 — hdog007That was good! Made me laugh.
Orange County Diploma Mill for athletes
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 20:01 — igliigliAs a UNC-CH grad, I agree; UNC-CH is a diploma mill for its professional athletes. Long past time to kick the Rams Club members off the Board of Trustees.
Whats your specialty?
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 19:03 — bryant80Whats your specialty? Putting up stupid comments that only you think is funny...
In 1949, I entered a state
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 18:18 — bigsurmacIn 1949, I entered a state university. It was one of the two university campuses I had ever seen and the only campus I had visited more than once.
For a 15-year-old ranch bred kid, it was a foreign land. More than half the students were WWII veterans, 25-to-50 years. callused and hard bitten to the extreme in most cases.
Many were married, with their wives working as office staff for the university. To put it mildly, the veterans had that campus and most American campuses "wired."
I found myself working 30-60 hour weeks to pay expenses, eventually involved with other ranch hands in an unofficial (officially banned) rodeo team.
Associating more and more with international students and out of state students. At least half of that state university's educational value for me came from those fellow students from worlds I had never imagined -- Playing soccer with forty Turks, sharing a class project with a Hindu from India, then with a Lebanese student from Beirut. Learning stir fry cooking from a graduate student from Honk Kong, tennis from a Sikh student from Northern India.
Sharing all night student sessions with a Bostonian from "Sculley Square," another Yankee -- from Connecticut "Old Money," with a Northern New Jersey son of a small town businessman, with twin sons of a western Canada prospector and miner.
Education comes where you find it.
Any student lucky enough to attend a highly respected university, recognized for quality and value -- and blessed with a broadly diversified international student body -- should count their blessings.
For those annoyed by the presence of "furriners" -- a university education would be wasted on 90 per cent of them.
RoroCA's anger
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 17:40 — MozarteanYour anger is misplaced.
Only about 22% of Carolina's overall budget comes from state taxpayers. It's true that a much larger percentage supports the undergraduate school, but the state has made clear for some time that it (meaning the taxpayers) will no longer be as generouis as in the past. So the much larger tuition and fees paid by out-of-state students is a financial necessity and they pay for it. It's not "at our expense."
More important, your hatred for New Yorkers and other out of staters is also misplaced. A university that educates only the people living within a couple hour's drive would be a poor place, indeed. Out of state students are the perfect addition to the rich blend of in-state best and brightest. They represent only 18% of the total. Many go on to great careers and give generously to Carolina in their adult lives. Carolina would not be the renowned university that it is if it permitted no out-of-state students.
My anger is not misplaced.
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 17:49 — RoroCAMy anger is not misplaced. Let me be clear. The school was created by NC and is paid for by NC. Tuition, even out of state tuition, does not come close to covering the cost. I have no problem having a few folks in but the New Yorkers need to pay 50 k a year or go to their great schools.
Asking the average NC person to pay for a school they cannot use is baloney.
UNC an extremely good value
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 17:09 — RoroCAThis article really angers me. I went to UNC. What this article is saying is that it is attractive and a cheap deal for a good education for all of the out of staters that come to NC for an education and then leave. Meanwhile the NC folks paying for this good deal have quotas on the number of NC students allowed. This is pure bull. The school belongs to NC and should serve the people of NC. We should not be giving Good Value to NY folks at our expense.
An extremely good value!
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 15:13 — unbiasedtruthme...Where else can you go to college for 4 years, do hardly any classwork but get guaranteed A's, and walk away with a degree?
I'm surprised to see someone
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 15:37 — Mike_J_in_NCI'm surprised to see someone denigrating their own degree like this.
Oh, wait - you probably never went there, did you? So this 'unbiased truth' is either based on ignorance or a petty bias based on sports teams?
Mike (who didn't go there either but is willing to assume that Kiplinger's methodology has more merit than your drivel...)
Careful .....
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 13:03 — InspectorPitt.... with the comments, Mr. Thorpe. Someone may assume you're taking a potshot at NCSU.
I can't wait to read the NCSU posts here!
Nah, NCSU grads are busy
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 20:45 — hdog007Nah, NCSU grads are busy making more money than their UNC counterparts (fact). However, it is entertaining watching UNC fans bash their own school!
Oh no...
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 13:53 — uBniceWhy did you have to go there?! :-)
I must confess .....
Tue, 01/03/2012 - 19:27 — InspectorPitt.... I ate a clown for breakfast, Ubnice!! :-))