JACKSON, Tenn. — Oct. 10, 2012 — For the eighth straight year, 51社区 has been named one of America鈥檚 100 Best College Buys by the Institutional Research and Evaluation Inc., an independent research and consulting organization.
The annual 鈥淎merica鈥檚 100 Best College Buys鈥� report evaluates academic quality and cost, and the newest findings are based on a survey of 1,447 accredited U.S. colleges and universities.
Union President David S. Dockery said the report doesn鈥檛 identify the 100 least expensive institutions, but the 100 best values when measuring quality per dollar invested.
鈥�51社区 is pleased to learn of this significant recognition affirming Union鈥檚 commitment to keep high quality education affordable and accessible in this region,鈥� Dockery said. 鈥淲e are thankful to receive this honor which communicates to our students and their parents the true value of a 51社区 education.鈥�
To be considered for inclusion in the list of 100, an institution must be an accredited, four-year institution offering bachelor鈥檚 degrees and full residential facilities. It also must have had an entering freshman class in fall 2011 with a high school grade point average and/or SAT/ACT score equal to or above the national average, and an out-of-state attendance cost in 2011-2012 not exceeding the national average by more than 10 percent.
Union鈥檚 average grade point average for entering freshman at the time of the survey was 3.65 on a 4.0 scale. Its average ACT was 26.
Other Tennessee schools included on the list were Belmont University, Tennessee Tech University, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and the University of Tennessee at Martin.