USAO tops Kiplinger’s Best Values in Public Colleges list for low cost

Singled out by Kiplinger in its Best Values in Public Colleges in 2012 as the least expensive public university “delivering a quality education at an affordable price" is the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. The announcement came this week on Kiplinger’s website.

Kiplinger, a Washington D.C.-based publisher specializing in finances, highlighted 100 public universities on its list. Striking a balance between academic and economic concerns, Kiplinger places three Oklahoma universities on its list for Best Value, including USAO, the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University.

While the combination of other factors pushed other institutions like the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill higher up the overall list, Kiplinger describes the USAO experience as “a steal” and declares it “the lowest-cost institution in our rankings.”

“I’m delighted that yet another national commentator on higher education has independently determined the great value of USAO to Oklahoma,” said Dr. Dex Marble, vice president for academic affairs at USAO. “This is great news for Oklahoma.”

This announcement follows three significant national stories about USAO in recent months.

Last fall, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni awarded USAO one of only 19 ‘A’ grades nationwide in its annual “What Will They Learn?” survey based on the relevance and strength of its core curriculum. More than 1,000 universities were surveyed including 15 Oklahoma higher education institutions.

Also in 2011, USAO was promoted to the National Liberal Arts Colleges category in U.S. News, the only Oklahoma school on the list.

In the fall of 2010, USAO was profiled with Harvard and Yale on NBC's The Today Show in a segment on quality and cost.