UVa-Wise in Latest U.S. News and World Report

UVa-Wise students complete degrees with the least amount of debt, according to U.S. News ranking

The Class of 2001 at The University of Virginia's College at Wise completed their degrees with less debt than students at any of the nation's other liberal arts colleges, according to the latest issue of U.S. News and World Report's annual college guide

UVa-Wise ranked first among national liberal arts colleges whose graduates complete their degrees while incurring the least amount of student debt.

About 66 percent of UVa-Wise graduates leave with debt. Of those UVa-Wise graduates who do have student loans to repay, the average amount of debt is $6,179. That compares to an average debt load of $24,448 for students at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, the liberal arts college with the largest average student debt.

"This is truly remarkable when you consider that 70 percent of our students demonstrate financial need, the largest percentage at any college or university in Virginia," said Rusty Necessary, UVa-Wise Director of Admissions and Financial Aid. "Through our endowment and foundation support, we've been able to supplement the federal and state monies available to assist students with need. Our students are able to gain a quality education while incurring a very small debt load."

The U.S. News data includes loans taken out by students from financial institutions, federals, state and local governments, and from the colleges themselves. The average amount of debt is the average cumulative amount borrowed by those students who incurred debt, not the average for all students. Last year, UVa-Wise ranked third among the nation's liberal arts colleges for the least amount of student debt with an average total of $7,994.

"Our institutional philosophy is to package financial aid in such a way that our students incur as little debt as possible," Necessary explained. "The ranking is a nice affirmation of the dedication of our donors and the hard work of our Financial Aid staff, but most importantly our students are graduating with a University of Virginia diploma and with a debt load they can manage."

UVa-Wise continues to be ranked among the nation's top ten public liberal arts colleges. With only the top five national public liberal arts colleges ranked individually in the current report, a precise numerical ranking is not yet available for the College. This is the second time the College has been included in the national ranking. Last year, UVa-Wise ranked ninth among the nation's top public liberal arts colleges.

Each school's rank, within its group of peer institutions, is based on the same set of quality measures. Seventy-five percent of the ranking is based on a formula that includes objective measures of academic quality, such as graduation rates, freshman retention, class size, student/faculty ratios, full-time faculty, SAT scores, acceptance rates, and alumni giving rates. The remaining 25 percent is based on a reputational survey conducted in the early spring. The magazine surveys the president, provost and dean of admissions at each school to rate the perceived quality of the academic programs for schools in the same category, including their own.