TAMPA, Fla. (Dec. 18, 2015) - The University of South Florida ranks among the nation’s top 50 best values in public higher education for 2016, according to a new list by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
USF places 45th on Kiplinger’s list, which rankings colleges and universities that combine outstanding academics with affordable cost. USF was 52nd last year.
The university has appeared in Kiplinger’s Top 100 every year since 2008, a testament to USF’s commitment to consistently providing value for students. USF has continued to make significant gains in the annual rankings since placing 87th in 2012.
While the overall rankings are based on an institution's value for its in-state residents, each college or university also receives a second ranking based on its value for out-of-state students. USF ranks 26th nationally among all public colleges and universities in that category.
Kiplinger’s assesses value by measuring academic factors such as admission rate, retention rate, the student-faculty ratio and graduation rate. The publication’s cost criteria include sticker price, financial aid and average debt at graduation.
USF’s graduation rate continues to set institutional records, while the university welcomed its strongest academic freshman class in school history this fall. Because of the investments made to the State University System by state leaders the past several years, USF has been able to hold tuition and fees for resident undergraduate students flat for the past three years.
The complete rankings are available online at Kiplinger.com/links/college and will appear in print in the February 2016 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, on newsstands in January.
The University of South Florida is a high-impact, global research university dedicated to student success. USF is a Top 50 research university among both public and private institutions nationwide in total research expenditures, according to the National Science Foundation.Serving nearly 48,000 students, the USF System has an annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $4.4 billion. USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference.
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