Murray State University only Ky. school to be ranked as best value by Kiplinger study (cont.)

Murray State University is ranked once again as one of the top 100 best values in higher education in America according to a 2007 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance study just reported online. Murray is the only Kentucky school to be included in the rankings; this is the second consecutive year for MSU to be recognized.

Kiplinger officials announced the 100 Best Values in Public Colleges ranking this week, based on data from more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities provided to Peterson’s, a Nelnet company.

Kiplinger reported that the list of 500 was narrowed to 120 schools based on several measures of academic quality. The criteria included: percentage of freshman scoring 600 or higher on the verbal and math components of the SAT (or 24 or higher on the ACT); admission rates; freshman retention rates; student-faculty ratios; and four- and six-year graduation rates.

"Then we ranked each school on cost and financial aid," Kiplinger wrote, "comparing total cost for in-state students, average cost for a student with need after subtracting grants, average cost for a student without need after subtracting non-need-based grants, average percentage of need met by aid, and average debt a student accumulates before graduation." To determine out-of-state rankings, Kiplinger officials ran the academic quality numbers again using total out-of-state costs and average costs after aid.

The rating system rewarded schools that were academically strong as well as affordable, officials explained. "In our scoring, academic quality carries more weight than costs (almost two-thirds of the total). We used academic-quality scores and average debt at graduation to break ties," they wrote.

The competition focused on traditional four-year public universities with broad-based curriculums and on-campus housing. The "100 Best Values" in higher education are listed on the Kiplinger website (www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2007/02colleges.html). Compared to universities across the nation, Murray is ranked 76th for in-state value and 66th for out-of-state value.

Murray State University has gained Kiplinger honors in the past, along with special recognition from Kaplan’s college guide, Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges, The Princeton Review, Money Guide, the Crime at College safety book, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education survey, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) "Student Success" study, and other competitive reviews. MSU is most noted for it continued high ranking by U.S.News & World Report, called "the heavyweight of college ranking services" by the Wall Street Journal. Murray State has received top honors by U.S.News for 16 consecutive years.