NEWS

Kiplinger’s, one of the nation’s most respected personal finance publications, has once again named Louisiana Tech University one of the Top 100 Best Values in Public Colleges.

The 2009-2010 rankings list Louisiana Tech along with LSU as the only institutions in the state to make the top 100.

“I am delighted that, for the second consecutive year, Kiplinger’s has recognized Louisiana Tech University as an institution that offers its students an exceptional educational value,” says Louisiana Tech President Dan Reneau.

“I believe this distinction is evidence of our successes in combining academic and research excellence with strategies for fiscal responsibility.”

Kiplinger’s bases its rankings on a combination of academics and affordability. Starting with data from more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, the list is narrowed to about 120 schools based on measures of academic quality — including SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates, which most schools reported for the class entering in 2002.

Each school is then ranked based on cost and financial aid factors such as total cost for in-state students, average cost for students with and without need, average percentage of need met by aid, and average debt a student accumulates before graduation.

Out-of-state rankings are calculated using total costs for out-of-state residents and average costs after aid.

“Value is about exceeding expectations,” says Reneau. “Louisiana Tech has been successful in this area and will continue to look for ways to provide the best possible value for our students.”

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill topped the 2009-2010 list followed by the University of Florida, University of Virginia, the College of William and Mary, and SUNY at Binghamton.

Written by Dave Guerin