Kiplinger's magazine ranks KU 22nd in nation's 100 best public college values

LAWRENCE -- Kiplinger's magazine has ranked the University of Kansas as among the best values in public universities in the nation where students "can get an excellent education for a reasonable price."

Comparing quality and cost, Kiplinger's editors put KU at 22nd in the nation for in-state students and 26th in the nation for out-of-state students seeking top universities that "give students the best bang for the buck." Last year, using a different methodology, Kiplinger's ranked KU at 28th in the nation and cited KU as one of nine "bargains for out-of-state students."

"KU is proud to offer students a very appealing combination of great academics and reasonable costs, and we're gratified to see Kiplinger's confirm our national reputation," said Janet Murguia, KU executive vice chancellor for university relations. "Thanks to our current tuition strategy and private support, KU's quality is getting better and better. We are actively seeking a strong and diverse mix of students, and we are investing strategically in better technology, better classrooms and labs, more faculty, and increased aid and scholarships."

Kiplinger's rankings, presented in its November 2003 issue, are based on data provided by more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities to Peterson's, a division of the Thomson Corp. The list first was limited to the top 200 schools with the highest percentages of the 2002-03 freshman class scoring above 600 on the verbal and math components of the SAT I, or scoring above 24 on the ACT. Kiplinger's then culled the list to 100 using several measures of academic quality -- including admission rates, student-faculty ratios, the percentage of faculty with the highest degrees in their field, how much each school spends on instruction for each student, how much each school spends on its library facilities, and four- and six-year graduation rates.

The magazine also factored in the total cost for in-state students (tuition, mandatory fees, room, board and estimated expenses for books and supplies), the average cost for a student with need after subtracting grants (but not loans), the average cost for a student without need after subtracting merit-based grants, the average percentage of need met by aid, and average debt a student accumulates before graduation.