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Four USM Schools Again Named 'Best Values in Public Colleges' by Kiplinger's Personal Finance

Adelphi, Md. (Jan. 4, 2013) -- Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine has again named several University System of Maryland (USM) institutions to its list of "100 Best Values in Public Colleges" for 2013. The magazine notes that the campuses it selects "deliver academic quality and affordability."

The USM schools honored are the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), Salisbury University, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and Towson University.

UMCP ranked 5th among four-year institutions for in-state students, drawing praise for providing outstanding education at an affordable price for in-state students. UMCP's ranking reflects a steady climb in Kiplinger's evaluation, an improvement from 8th last year and 28th in 2008.

"Some credit goes to a four-year tuition freeze, which ended in 2010 but helped Maryland leap-frog its tuition-raising peers. In-staters pay an average of $12,499 after need," Kiplinger's wrote.  "The 2014-15 academic year will see Maryland leave the Atlantic Coast Conference to join the Big Ten. The change promises to affect both athletic match-ups and gain UMD entry into the Big Ten's Committee on Institutional Cooperation, 15 schools that share resources, such as library materials, study abroad

Salisbury University attained a 72nd ranking for in-state students, making the "100 Best Values" list for the fifth straight year.

UMBC and Towson attained rankings of 78th and 84th, respectively, for in-state students. UMBC's out-of-state "best values" ranking was 61st.

Kiplinger's determines its rankings with a combination of measures, including student-faculty ratios, student debt levels after graduation, and retention and graduation rates.

The Kiplinger's report data can be accessed at http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/.

Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu

University System of Maryland
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