The University of Delaware has earned kudos in three recent national publications, in addition to its top-tier ranking nationally by U.S. News and World Report.

UD achieved "summa cum laude" honors as the 24th among 100 best values in public colleges in Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, and Educause Review, which focuses on information technology in higher education, cited UD for "best practices" in encouraging faculty to adopt new learning technologies. And, the Kaplan/Newsweek College Catalog 2001 reports that UD "has it all!"

An article, "A Degree of Value," in Kiplinger's October issue looks at the best values among public colleges and universities "where you can get a quality education for less than the cost of a second home." The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was ranked first.

Kiplinger's selected its top 100 using such measures as graduation rates, how many freshmen return for the sophomore year, student-faculty ratios, how much is spent per student on instruction and how much is spent to maintain library resources.

From there, schools are ranked on a combination of quality and cost measures, including total cost, percentage of financial aid need met (for the average student with need) and average amount of debt a student accumulates before graduation. More weight was placed on quality rather than cost, because, as the article says, "'value' is not synonymous with 'cheap.'"

In the article, "Faculty Engagement and Support in the New Learning Environment," in the September/October issue of Educause, UD is one of 46 institutions singled out as having "best practices" that support faculty involvement.

According to the article, an "enabling environment" is fundamental to institutional change. By analyzing the needs and motivations of faculty, the authors of the article identified five areas that affect the level of faculty involvement.

UD–cited for training, grants and start-up resources, technical support and communication–was one of only five institutions in the list cited in four areas. Others with four citations were the universities of Central Florida, Notre Dame and Texas at Austin and Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

According to the article, "The institutions that feature the 'best practices' in faculty engagement with and support of new learning technologies are the ones that are making these opportunities a reality."

"The University of Delaware has it all!" That's the simple explanation for why UD is so popular among East Coast high school seniors, according to a guidance counselor quoted in the new edition of Kaplan/Newsweek College Catalog 2001, a guide with information on more than 1,100 schools.

One of only 173 schools selected for a full-page campus profile in the guide, UD is noted for its special study options, such as the University Honors Program and the Undergraduate Research Program; for its open and friendly atmosphere; and for its beautiful campus.

The profile concludes, "The fact that the University of Delaware is growing is a source of pride to its students, alumni and townspeople. And why shouldn't it grow, with such affordable tuition for students both in and out of state? Says one New York alumna, 'I'm proud to have gone there.'"

The book also lists UD among schools that high school seniors think are "hot" or "trendy," according to a national survey of guidance counselors in both public and private high schools.

UD was ranked 26th among the nation's top public universities in U.S. News and World Report's "America's Best Colleges 2001," released Sept. 1, and also received recognition for its Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and College of Business and Economics.