The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education have named Berea College the best value institution in the United States.
The survey, which included 938 institutions, calculated rankings by dividing each of the top 250 schools’ overall score by its average net price. According to the Wall Street Journal, the rankings took into account four areas, with 40 percent of the overall score based on student outcomes, 30 percent on resources, 20 percent on engagement with students and 10 percent on the learning environment.
Berea College’s No. 1 ranking was followed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; the University of Washington, Seattle; and Purdue University, respectively.
In announcing the rankings, Melissa Korn, the Wall Street Journal’s higher-education writer, cited how Berea’s Labor Program and the endowment contributed to making education affordable for its students. Berea College President Lyle Roelofs also noted that Berea serves students from the lowest income quartile.