Kiplinger's again ranks UNC-CH No. 1

The News & Observer
January 4, 2012
BY JANE STANCILL

At a time when hefty tuition increases are on the table, UNC-Chapel Hill is once again at the top of a ranking of best values in public higher education. 

For the 11th straight year, UNC-CH is the nation's No. 1 best buy, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine. UNC-CH was rated as the best value for both in-state and out-of-state students.

Five other UNC system campuses appeared in the affordability ranking when it comes to value for in-state students: UNC Wilmington was 15th; N.C. State University was 19th; Appalachian State University was 33rd; N.C. School of the Arts was 41st; and UNC Asheville was 45th. Kiplinger's rated 100 public colleges overall.  UNCW moved up significantly, having ranked 27th in 2010 and 2011.

The ranking comes as UNC system leaders will consider significant tuition hikes requested by campuses in the aftermath of a systemwide state budget cut of 15.6 percent.  UNC-CH wants to raise most students' tuition by at least $2,800 during the next five years. In-state students now pay $7,009 in tuition and fees; out-of-state students pay $26,834. Those figures do not include costs such as room, food and books.... The UNC Board of Governors is expected to discuss tuition at its meeting next week.

Kiplinger assesses value based on cost and financial aid, student indebtedness, competitiveness, graduation rates and academic support. A college rates highly when it has a low sticker price, plentiful financial aid and low student borrowing levels. This year, the magazine gave extra weight to other academic factors, including strong four-year graduation rates.

Rounding out the top 10 values for in-state students: University of Florida; University of Virginia; College of William and Mary; New College of Florida; University of Georgia; University of California-Berkeley; University of Maryland; University of California-Los Angeles; and University of California-San Diego.

UNC-CH has lost more than $231 million in state revenue since 2008, the article said, and has made $50 million in administrative cuts in an effort to protect the classroom.

"From the fat years of the late 1990s through the post-2008 recession, UNC-Chapel Hill has been a leader for academic excellence, low cost and generous financial aid - exactly the criteria by which we define value," Kiplinger's editor Jane Bennett Clark wrote in the article.

Chancellor Holden Thorp said Tuesday that a tuition increase at UNC-CH is unlikely to affect its ranking in the future.  "The University of Virginia is not that far behind us, and they're a whole lot more expensive," he said. "The quality is a very important part of this. ... It's a twin commitment to quality and access, and it's also about financial aid. Virginia and Carolina are the two schools that meet 100 percent of their (students') documented need. It's the cost and it's the financial aid philosophy balanced with the quality."

But Thorp and faculty leaders have warned that the university's quality may be eroding with the latest state budget cut, which was 17.9 percent at UNC-CH. The reduction has led to larger class sizes and reduced academic offerings for students.

"That's why we think that we've reached a point where we need another modest increase in tuition," Thorp said. "Because if the quality drops, then Kiplinger's is not going to say we're the best value, no matter what our price is." Click here to read more.