Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has ranked Temple University among the nation’s 100 best values in public colleges in its annual list of four-year institutions “that deliver a stellar education at an affordable price.”  The rankings appear in the magazine’s February 2011 issue and online at www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges.

“Since its beginning, Temple has offered affordable access to enormous opportunity,” said Richard Englert, provost and interim senior vice president for academic affairs. “Students and parents recognize the great value of a Temple education and consistently choose the university for its academic quality, its outstanding faculty, the diversity of its student body, the wide variety of programs and its vibrant urban location.”

Other public institutions in the northeast region that are ranked among the best values include University of Pittsburgh, University of Delaware, Pennsylvania State University at University Park, Rutgers, State University of N.J., New Brunswick, West Chester University, Millersville University and Bloomsburg University.

Chosen from a pool of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, schools in the Kiplinger 100 were ranked according to academic quality, including admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates, as well as on cost and financial aid.

Last month, in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Temple was featured as one of four public research institutions in the U.S. that experienced the most significant increase in graduation rates in recent years. From 2002-2008, graduation rates at Temple increased from 47 to 65 percent, which can be attributed to a number of changes including a more robust advising program, improved course scheduling and the new Critical Paths Program, which helps students clearly and easily plot out a path to complete their degree programs.