The UI Springfield benefited from Kiplinger's reweighted criteria, as well as a relatively low student-faculty ratio of 14-to-1, senior associate editor Marc Wojno said.
"It obviously indicates students have more time with teachers in one-on-one academic study. And it is less expensive," Wojno said.
Illinois residents pay $8,670 on average a year for undergraduate tuition at the Springfield campus, and nearly 70 percent of students receive some form of financial aid. The "sticker price" for in-state residents is $19,702, or $11,489 after financial aid. The freshmen retention rate is 76 percent.
Susan Koch, vice president and chancellor of the UI Springfield, said students get a UI degree at an affordable cost "while at the same time experiencing the intimate learning environment that is the hallmark of the UIS experience."
The ranking was spotlighted in an January 4, 2012, article in the Champaign News-Gazette.
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