Six Florida Universities Among Kiplinger's 100 Best Values in Public Colleges

CORRECTED TO ADD MORE FLORIDA UNIVERSITIES: The state university system in Florida has long insisted that its tuition schedules are among the best value for a student's higher education dollar in the country, justifying further increases. On Tuesday, a venerable annual survey backed up that claim.

Kiplingers Personal Finance has named the University of Florida, Florida State University, New College of Florida, the University of Central Florida, University of North Florida and University of South Florida among the 100 best values in public colleges in America. In fact, UF came in second and New College fifth.

The annual survey ranks four-year schools that combine outstanding education with economic value. The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill takes top honors, a spot it has held consistently since Kiplingers first analysis in 1998. This year it ranks No. 1 for out-of-state value as well. The annual public school rankings appear in Kiplingers February 2012 issue -- on newsstands Tuesday and online now at http://www.kiplinger.com/links/college.

Web visitors will find special features including an FAQ about the public colleges' ranking, a slideshow of the top 10 schools, and a tool that lets readers sort by in-state and out-of-state cost, average debt at graduation and admission rate. Additionally, Kiplingers top-200-ranked private colleges and universities of 2011-12 -- announced in November 201 -- are featured in the Best College Values report.

As states cut funding for higher education and tuition continues to climb, the word 'value' becomes more significant than ever, said Jane Bennett Clark, senior editor at Kiplingers Personal Finance. This years top 100 public schools deliver strong academics at reasonable prices. We applaud these institutions for tightening their belts without compromising quality.

Full List of Kiplingers Top 100 Values in Public Colleges

1. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

2. University of Florida

3. University of Virginia

4. College of William and Mary

5. New College of Florida

6. University of Georgia

7. University of California, Berkeley

8. University of Maryland, College Park

9. University of California, Los Angeles

10. University of California, San Diego

11. SUNY Geneseo

12. Binghamton University (SUNY)

13. University of Wisconsin-Madison

14. University of Washington

15. University of North Carolina at Wilmington

16. University of Michigan

17. University of California, Santa Barbara

18. Florida State University

19. North Carolina State University

20. University of California, Davis

21. Texas A&M University

22. University. of California, Irvine

23. Truman State University (Mo.)

24. University of Texas at Austin

25. University of Delaware

26. College of New Jersey

27. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

28. James Madison University (Va.)

29. University of Pittsburgh (Pa.)

30. University of Connecticut

31. Georgia Institute of Technology

32. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

33. Appalachian State University (N.C)

34. Clemson University (S.C)

35. Stony Brook University (SUNY)

36. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology

37. Ohio State University

38. University at Buffalo (SUNY)

39. University of Central Florida

40. Indiana University, Bloomington

41. North Carolina School of the Arts

42. St. Mary's College of Maryland

43. Rutgers, State University of N.J., New Brunswick

44. University of Mary Washington (Va.)

45. University of North Carolina at Asheville

46. University of Texas at Dallas

47. University of Iowa

48. Ramapo College of New Jersey

49. Michigan State University

50. George Mason University (Va.)

51. Pennsylvania State University at University Park

52. Miami University (Ohio)

53. University of Arkansas

54. University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

55. SUNY New Paltz

56. University of California, Santa Cruz

57. University of South Carolina

58. SUNY Oneonta

59. University of Vermont

60. Purdue University (Ind.)

61. College of Charleston (S.C.)

62. University of WisconsinLa Crosse

63. University of North Florida

64. University at Albany (SUNY)

65. University of Minnesota, Morris

66. Iowa State University

67. University of Oklahoma

68. University of NebraskaLincoln

69. Colorado School of Mines

70. University of MassachusettsAmherst

71. Salisbury University (Md.)

72. Louisiana State University

73. University of Colorado at Boulder

74. University of Tennessee

75. SUNY Brockport

76. Towson University (Md.)

77. San Diego State University

78. SUNY Fredonia

79. University of MissouriColumbia

80. University of Alabama

81. Western Washington University

82. University of WisconsinEau Claire

83. California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

84. University of Maryland, Baltimore County

85. University of Illinois at Springfield

86. Colorado State University

87. University of South Florida

88. North Georgia College & State University

89. Auburn University (Ala.)

90. West Chester University of Pennsylvania

91. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

92. Oklahoma State University

93. University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma

94. Christopher Newport University (Va.)

95. University of California, Riverside

96. Louisiana Tech University

97. University of Oregon

98. California State University, Long Beach

99. University of Arizona

100. University of New Hampshire