UNC Asheville has been named a “Best Buy” in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2014, joining UNC-Chapel Hill as the only North Carolina schools among the 21 public universities to earn a place on this national rankings list. Elon and Warren Wilson are listed among Fiske’s 20 Best Buy private colleges and universities. 

For the 10th consecutive year, UNCA's Environmental Studies Program was named to the Fiske guide's list of pre-professional programs with unusual strength in preparing students for careers. 

The 2014 edition, released July 2, represents the 30th anniversary of the Fiske guide, created by former New York Times education editor, Edward B. Fiske. To achieve a place on the Best Buy list, a school must have a four- or five-star academic rating and be rated as either inexpensive or moderately priced. 

UNCA is described by the Fiske guide as “one of the best educational bargains in the country,” with “all the ingredients for a superior college experience … strong academics, dedicated professors and an administration that continues to push for excellence. It’s a place to get the kind of liberal arts education usually associated with private colleges,” according to the Fiske guide. 

One student quoted in the Fiske guide said, “The residence halls are not dorms where students are stuffed in and hope to survive – they are communities.” Another student said, “There are no teaching assistants, only professors, and a large majority of them have the highest degree in their field.” 

Earlier this year, UNCA was named a “Best Value” by The Princeton Review, and was praised for quality and value by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and Forbes magazine. Last September, UNC Asheville was ranked seventh in the nation among public liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report, which also listed the university among those where students graduate with the least amount of debt.