'Kiplinger's' Magazine Names SU One of 100 Best Values

SALISBURY, MD---Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has named Salisbury University one of its 2007 100 Best Values in Public Colleges.  Campuses listed “combine outstanding value with a first-class education,” the magazine said.  Academic quality carries more weight in the formula Kiplinger’s uses.

Each institution receives two rankings based on several factors, including out-of-state and in-state costs. SU’s out-of-state ranking is 40th among the top 100.  Its in-state ranking is 50th, improving from 62nd during the magazine’s last poll of public campuses in 2005. More than 500 institutions nationwide are surveyed.

“Being one of the three higher education institutions in the State of Maryland to be recognized in Kiplinger’s top 100 again this year is most gratifying,” said SU Interim Provost Tom Jones. "I am also very pleased to see that SU has improved its Kiplinger’s ranking this year over last.”

The magazine based its rankings on several factors including admission rates, freshman retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates, among others.

Two other Maryland campuses are among the top 100: the University of Maryland College Park and St. Mary’s College of Maryland.  The top 100 also includes the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the College of William and Mary, and Purdue University.

The accolade is the latest addition to SU’s 2007 list of national rankings:  one of the top 10 public institutions in the North among its peers by U.S. News & World Report, one of the “Best 361 Colleges” by The Princeton Review and one of the “369 Most Interesting Schools” in Newsweek-Kaplan’s 2007 How to Get Into College guide.

For more information call 410-543-6030 or visit the SU Web site at www.salisbury.edu.