Tuesday, January 04, 2011

The University of North Carolina Wilmington is again ranked one of the "Best Values" among public universities in the nation and one of the top three in North Carolina, according to Kiplinger's 2011 rankings.

Kiplinger's ranks "four-year institutions that deliver a stellar education at an affordable price." For 2011, UNCW is ranked 27th nationally, holding steady from 2010.

In North Carolina, Kiplinger's ranks UNCW as the third best value in public education for 2011, behind only the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University, moving up from fourth in the state last year. Kiplinger's has rated UNCW in the top 5 public universities in the state since 2003.

Among UNCW's group of 15 peer institutions determined by the UNC Board of Governors, 10 appear in the 2011 listing of Kiplinger's top 100 best values in public colleges, placing UNCW among a select group of public master's institutions. The top four best values among these peer institutions are James Madison University, the College of New Jersey, UNCW and Truman State University. This year, UNCW moved ahead of Truman State, which was third on the 2010 list.

Selected from a pool of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, schools in the Kiplinger's 100 were ranked according to academic quality, including admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates, as well as on cost and financial aid. The complete list is available at www.kiplinger.com.

UNCW also has received top rankings from U.S.News & World Report and The Princeton Review. For 2011, U.S.News & World Report named UNCW one of the top 5 public master's universities in the South in its annual college rankings. The university has been in the top 10 of that annual list for thirteen consecutive years. UNCW also received the 2011 "Best in the Southeast" designation by The Princeton Review and was ranked in Forbes' 2010 "America's Best College Buys" as one of the top 20 college and universities in the nation for providing high quality education at the lowest cost to students.

Media Contact:
Dana Fischetti, media relations manager, 910.508.3127 or fischettid@uncw.edu.