Kiplinger's ranks MUW among 100 best public colleges in America

COLUMBUS, Miss. -- Mississippi University for Women was ranked 69 of the top 100 best public colleges in America in the October 2002 edition of the highly respected Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.

In addition to being recognized for its quality, The W was the highest rated Mississippi university, and of all the colleges ranked, MUW had the lowest "total cost" for both in and out-of-state students.

"This is a tremendous accomplishment and reflects on the dedication of the entire university community," said Dr. Claudia A. Limbert, MUW president. "Besides our consistently high ranking in U.S. News & World Report, this additional ranking from Kiplinger's is further confirmation that MUW has excellent faculty and programs to offer our students."

Commissioner of Higher Education Tom Layzell stated "The fact that two of our universities are named to this prestigious list is further confirmation of the fact that Mississippi public universities are providing nationally recognized quality education. Both Dr. Limbert and Dr. (Robert) Khayat and their faculty and staff have every reason to be especially proud of these rankings during these challenging budget times. The Board and I are very proud of this achievement."

To determine rankings, Kiplinger's uses data from Wintergreen-Orchard House, a division of Riverside Publishing, which gathers statistics each year on more than 1,800 schools, including more than 600 four-year public colleges and universities.

The list is narrowed to the 200 most selective universities, based on entrance exam scores of the 2001 freshman class.

After selecting the top 100, universities were ranked on quality and cost measures including total cost overall, the percentage of financial need met by aid given to the average student with need, the average cost for students with need after subtracting grants (but not loans) and the average amount of debt a student accumulates before graduation.

According to Kiplinger's, "Overall, the formula placed greater weight on quality (two-thirds) than on cost (one-third) because `value' is not synonymous with `cheap.'"

Dr. Patricia Donat, director of general studies, said, "I was pleased to learn of our top 100 ranking by Kiplinger's. It is affirming to have our efforts recognized nationally. The W's combination of excellent academic programs and personal attention make us a great choice for students beginning their academic careers."

The top five universities were the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Virginia, the University of California-Berkeley, the College of William and Mary in Virginia and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

The process Kiplinger's used in naming the 100 best public colleges is available on the website at http://kiplinger.com/php/college/2002/public.html.