Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine ranks UNC Asheville as a best value in the February 2010 issue.

With the cost of college on the minds of many high school students and parents, a timely survey from Kiplinger's Personal Finance of the nation's 100 best values in public colleges was released this week. The annual list ranks four-year institutions that combine outstanding education with economic value.

The survey, published online and in the February print edition of Kiplinger's, ranks UNC Asheville 44th in the nation as a best value for in-state students and 50th in the nation as a best value for out-of-state students.

Selected from a pool of more than 500 public colleges and universities, Kiplinger's 100 best value colleges were ranked according to academic quality, retention rates, student-faculty ratios, graduation rates and cost and financial aid.

Other North Carolina schools to make the list include UNC Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, Appalachian State, UNC Wilmington and North Carolina School of the Arts. The complete list is online at www.kiplinger.com/reports/best-college-values/.

Earlier this academic year, UNC Asheville received high marks from U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" in several key categories, including for commitment to teaching, innovation, undergraduate research and affordability. In addition, 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. The University was also among just 50 institutions nationwide named to the Princeton Review's "Best Value" Public Colleges list.