U.S. News & World Report ranked 250 liberal arts colleges, 223 private and 27 public, in this year's survey. The annual college rankings look at a range of measures, including academic reputation, graduation and retention rates, commitment to instruction and class size, student abilities and admissions selectivity, college financial resources and alumni financial support.

Once again this year, UNC Asheville was recognized by the rankings for affordability as measured by student debt. The university ranked 14th (up from 22nd last year) among the 250 national liberal arts colleges for least debt among students graduating in 2011. UNC Asheville remains the only North Carolina liberal arts college on the "least debt" list.

The U.S. News & World Report rankings are among several accolades UNC Asheville has recently received. In August 2012, Forbes magazine ranked UNC Asheville 21st in the nation on its "Top 100 Best Buy Colleges" roster. Of the eight universities in North Carolina that made the list, only UNC-Chapel Hill, at 13th, ranked higher.

Also this year, UNC Asheville was included in the Princeton Review's "Guide to 322 Green Colleges for 2012" and its "The Best 377 Colleges" guide. Princeton Review noted the "top-notch academic experience" that UNC Asheville students receive, and ranked the university 11th nationally on its "college city gets high marks" list.

In July 2012, the "Fiske Guide to Colleges" ranked UNC Asheville among the nation's top colleges, and for the ninth consecutive year, UNC Asheville's Environmental Studies Program was highlighted as showing unusual strength in preparing students for careers. UNC Asheville was also cited as a "best value" earlier this year by both Princeton Review and Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine.

(Image provided by UNC Asheville.)

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