University of Mount Olive earns a top spot on list
By From staff reports
Published in News on September 1, 2016 1:46 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- The University of Mount Olive earned the top spot in the Southeast colleges division of Washington Monthly's "Best Bang for the Buck" list.
The list recognizes institutions "in America that do the best job of helping non-wealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices," according to the magazine's editors.
Washington Monthly evaluated approximately 1,500 colleges and universities and selected 349 based on criteria that reward schools that do well with students from lower-income families.
"The aim of our new cost-adjusted graduation rate is to highlight those colleges that use their resources to effectively educate students at a relatively low cost -- and to call out those that burn though tuition dollars without much to show for it," said Rachael Fishman and Robert Kelchen in a Washington Monthly news release.
The editors said the list is based on a dataset from the Obama administration that shows, for the first time, how much students earn 10 years after enrolling at a given college and whether they're paying down some of the loan principal. The dataset also reveals the percent of first-generation students each college enrolls, a key measure of its commitment to opportunity.
"The University of Mount Olive in North Carolina heads our Southeast list on the strength of a low net price of attendance for families making less than $75,000 per year and outperforming its expected values for graduation rates, earning, and loan repayment," Kelchen said.
"For a long time the University of Mount Olive was one of the best-kept secrets in the United States," university Dr. Philip P. Kerstetter said. "We are delighted to be recognized in Washington Monthly's ranking as the number one 'Best Bang for the Buck' list.
"This national recognition solidifies that we are delivering an exceptional education at an exceptional value. Others can now see that we are a true gem and are dedicated to providing our students with a world-class education at a very affordable price. The secret is out."