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SUNY Plattsburgh Named One of the Nation’s Best Values


SUNY Plattsburgh has once again been recognized by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine as a national leader in offering “an excellent education at an affordable price.”

The college made the “Kiplinger 100: Best Values in Public Colleges” list, placing 64th for in-state students and 63rd for out-of-state students and ranking ahead of schools such as University of Vermont, University of New Hampshire and SUNY Albany. The list appears in the February 2011 issue of the magazine, which hit newsstands today.

According to Kiplinger’s, the college was selected from a pool of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities. These were ranked according to academic quality, including admission and retention rates, student-to-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates, as well as cost and financial aid.

This is not the first time that SUNY Plattsburgh has made the list. In 2009, the college ranked 79th for in-state and 62nd for out-of-state students. In 2008, it ranked 97th for in-state and 79th for out-of-state students.

"We are pleased once again to have our efforts noticed by a national publication,” President John Ettling said. “This acknowledgment is one of many measures indicating that even in this tough financial environment our faculty and staff are doing what is right for our students – giving them an excellent education at an affordable price.”

The college was also recognized once again by U.S. News and World Report this fall. That magazine ranked SUNY Plattsburgh 24th among public master’s-level schools in the north, moving it up two notches from its former ranking of 26th.

According to Ettling, other indicators of the college’s strong standing include national teaching excellence honors bestowed on faculty like Dr. Chris Martine and Sandra Latourelle, who received awards from the Botanical Society of America and the National Association of Biology Teachers, respectively, and Dr. Nancy Elwess, who received a mentoring excellence award from President Obama.

In addition, the college continues to see an increase in applications. This was the fourth year in a row that the college had to turn away more students than it could accept. This year’s acceptance rate was 47.6 percent.

“What this ranking says is that SUNY is a bargain. New Yorkers have an outstanding resource right in their backyard and national publications are recognizing that quality and unsurpassed value,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher. “I congratulate the campus presidents, faculty, staff and students who are responsible for SUNY's consistent placement among these prominent rankings. Today, Kiplinger’s provided further proof that SUNY schools truly deliver a stellar education at an affordable price.”

To view the complete Kiplinger’s listing visit http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/.

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