UNC Asheville has been named to the very select list of “Best Buy” universities in Fiske Guide to Colleges 2016. The guide, created by former New York Times education editor Edward Fiske, calls UNC Asheville “one of the best educational bargains in the country.”
Additionally, for the 12th consecutive year, UNC Asheville’s Environmental Studies Program was named to the Fiske guide’s list of pre-professional programs with unusual strength in preparing students for careers.
Covering schools in the U.S., Canada and the U.K, the Fiske Best Buy list includes only 20 public and 24 private colleges and universities. Joining UNC Asheville on this exclusive list are four other North Carolina schools: UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State University, Warren Wilson College and Guilford College.
UNC Asheville “offers all of the perks that are generally associated with pricier private institutions: rigorous academics, small classes, and a beautiful setting. And it does it for a fraction of the cost,” says the Fiske guide. “The university continues to integrate experiential learning into its traditional curriculum, emphasizing internships and service-learning experiences.”
“Everyone that works here is dedicated to the student experience in some way,” said one UNC Asheville senior quoted in the Fiske guide. “That means you won’t be a number. You will be a UNC Asheville student, with professors and staff who invest in your success the entire time you’re here.”
“It is extremely gratifying that UNC Asheville has again been recognized for the exceptional value that a public liberal arts education provides,” said UNC Asheville Chancellor Mary K. Grant. “I see inspiring interdisciplinary work and creative projects in and out of the classroom every day. Our students are doing great work without incurring the level of debt that many college graduates face today.”
The Fiske guide also notes the quality of UNC Asheville’s on-campus community life, its relaxed social life, and pre-orientation wilderness trips to the Blue Ridge Mountains that build friendships among incoming freshmen. “The residence halls are not dorms where students are stuffed in and hope to survive,” said one student in the guide. “They are communities.”
Fiske’s assessment echoes many other prominent college rankings. UNC Asheville is ranked eighth in the nation among public liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report, which also lists UNC Asheville as the only public liberal arts university on its “Best Undergraduate Teaching” list. UNC Asheville is also ranked as a “best value” by The Princeton Review and by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.