JACKSON, Tenn. — Dec. 18, 2014 — 51社区 climbed significantly in the 2015 rankings of the country鈥檚 best values in private colleges by Kiplinger鈥檚 Personal Finance.
Kiplinger鈥檚 annual list ranks 100 private universities, 100 liberal arts colleges and 100 public universities, and Union ranked 48th among the best private university values in the nation. Last year, Union ranked 77th on the same list.
鈥淲e say often that Union is a great value because of the excellence of the Union experience and the cost of attendance, and this is a nice recognition from a respected publication saying the very same thing,鈥� Union President Samuel W. 鈥淒ub鈥� Oliver said. 鈥淎ll of us at Union strive to be excellence-driven, Christ-centered, people-focused and future-directed. The stewardship of resources is one way we demonstrate our core values.鈥�
Union and the other schools included in the 2015 lists represent the colleges that provide high-quality academics at a reasonable cost during tough economic times, Kiplinger鈥檚 said. The colleges exemplify the attributes parents and students look for in higher education, including small class sizes, a good freshman retention rate and a high four-year graduation rate. Many schools, including Union, have appeared on the list multiple times.
Although private schools generally carry higher sticker prices than in-state prices at public schools, private schools can actually be less expensive than public schools because of their generous financial aid. Of the 100 schools on the list, only seven had a lower cost than Union.
Kiplinger鈥檚 rankings measure academic quality and affordability. Academic criteria include the student admission rate (the number of students accepted out of those who apply), the percentage of students who return for their sophomore year, the student-faculty ratio and the four-year graduation rate.
On the cost side, Kiplinger鈥檚 measures the sticker price, the availability and average amount of need-based and merit-based financial aid and the average student debt at graduation.
The complete rankings are available at .