U.S. News  & World Report gave high marks to UNC Asheville

UNC Asheville, once again, has been praised by U.S. News & World Report’s "America’s Best Colleges" rankings released on August 20. The magazine’s highly anticipated ranking gave high marks to UNC Asheville for its commitment to teaching, innovation, undergraduate research and affordability.

New this year, U.S. News & World Report singled out 80 colleges and universities where "the faculty has an unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching." Among 19 public and private liberal arts colleges, UNC Asheville tied for 12th place with University of the South. UNC Asheville was the only public liberal arts college selected in this category.

"While we always welcome national confirmation as a noteworthy university, it's especially gratifying to be recognized for adhering to our core mission of providing an outstanding liberal arts education for undergraduate students," said UNC Asheville Chancellor Anne Ponder.

UNC Asheville was also noted for its overall positive upward trajectory. The University tied for ninth place among all liberal arts colleges as a "Top Up-and-Coming School" for having recently made promising and innovative changes. UNC Asheville was the only public liberal arts college named to this list.

UNC Asheville's Undergraduate Research Program was among a handful to be listed by U.S. News & World Report as among the best in the nation. This section of the guide lists eight academic programs that contain "outstanding examples of academic programs that are believed to lead to student success." UNC Asheville's Undergraduate Research Program is one among only 27 colleges and universities in the nation to be included in the Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects category. UNC Asheville, which founded the National Council for Undergraduate Research, has made this roster every year since it began eight years ago.

In a category that listed colleges and universities whose class of 2008 students graduated with the least debt, UNC Asheville improved significantly, moving from number 24 among public and private liberal arts colleges to number 15 in the latest ranking. No other North Carolina college made this list.

The newsstand book, "America's Best Colleges," which contains the U.S. News & World Report rankings, will go on sale Tuesday, Aug. 25. Many of the rankings will be featured in the next issue of U.S. News & World Report magazine, which goes on sale August 24.

The U.S. News & World Report rankings are among several accolades the University has recently received. In the 2010 edition of the "Fiske Guide to Colleges," UNC Asheville landed a spot on the Best Buy list of American and Canadian colleges for the 16th consecutive year. Earlier this year, UNC Asheville was among just 50 institutions nationwide named to the Princeton Review's "Best Value" Public Colleges list.