At a time when family budgets are tight and tuition costs are rising, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has once again listed UNC Asheville among the nation’s top 100 public colleges for its combination of outstanding education with economic value.

“Kiplinger’s Best Values in Public Colleges” was published online this week and will appear in the February print edition of Kiplinger’s.

Beginning with a pool of more than 500 public colleges and universities, Kiplinger’s selected 100 for a combination of best academic quality, retention rates, student-faculty ratios, graduation rates, cost of attending and financial aid.  This year UNCA was ranked 58th.

Other North Carolina schools to make the list include UNC Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, UNC Wilmington, Appalachian State and North Carolina School of the Arts. The complete list is online at http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/.

Earlier this academic year, UNCA 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.

The 2011 edition of the “Fiske Guide to Colleges,” described UNCA as “one of the best educational bargains in the country.”

The university was also among just 50 institutions nationwide named to the Princeton Review’s “Best Values” public college list.