BOONE—Appalachian State University has climbed to the 22^nd spot in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine’s list of the top 100 values in public colleges and universities in the nation.

Appalachian was listed 29th in last year’s rankings.

Kiplinger’s based its 2009-10 rankings on a combination of academics and affordability. The magazine started with data from more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities provided by Peterson’s/Nelnet. The list was then narrowed to 100 schools based on measures of academic quality, including SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates, which most schools reported for the class entering in 2002.

To assess costs, the magazine looked at total expenses for in-state students (tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, and books); the average cost for a student with need after subtracting grants (but not loans); the average cost for a student without need after subtracting non-need-based grants; the average percentage of need met by aid; and the average debt per student before graduation.

UNC Chapel Hill topped the list at No. 1. Other North Carolina public schools on the list are N.C. State University (20), UNC Wilmington (27), UNC Asheville (44) and UNC School of the Arts (61).

Appalachian’s in-state costs were listed by the magazine at just over $11,500.

“Despite widespread state government budget cuts and shrinking endowments, this year’s top 100 public schools continue to deliver strong academics at reasonable prices,” says Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s. “In fact, in many cases, these institutions are offering the same or more financial aid as in previous years.”

The rankings are online at www.kiplinger.com/reports/best-college-values/. In addition, the magazine has an online survey where readers can vote for the university or college they consider the best value in education. The survey is at http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/vote.php.

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