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The State University of New York at Fredonia offers the best public education for the most reasonable price in the northern United States, according to statistics released Friday.

U.S. News & World Report recently completed a comprehensive survey of over 1,300 colleges and universities across the United States for its annual publication, "America's Best Colleges." The results - which will appear on the newsstand on Monday, Sept. 16 - show that SUNY Fredonia is a relative bargain among similar regional institutions. College President Dennis L. Hefner said, "This is a testament to the quality of our faculty, staff, and students. Our student retention and graduation rates are among the highest in the nation."
 
Using a formula based on the type of university, academic quality and the cost of attendance for a student who receives the average amount of financial aid, U.S. News deduced that a SUNY Fredonia education costs $10, 272 - about the same price as a decent used car.
 
That number placed the 176-year-old college 12th among universities specializing in undergraduate and master's degree programs in the North on the "Great Schools at Great Prices" list. Eleven privately funded schools ranked ahead of SUNY Fredonia in the northeast.
 
SUNY Fredonia is also the third least-expensive public university in terms of academic excellence in the country, topped by only the Mississippi University of Women ($6,685) and Appalachian State University ($9,427). Low tuition rates meant that only eight percent of SUNY Fredonia's students received grant money based on need in 2001, as compared to 68 percent at regional "Great Prices" leader Gallaudet University or a whopping 85 percent at Alfred University. The smaller price tag did not tip the scales dramatically in SUNY Fredonia's direction, however. To earn a spot among the "Great Schools at a Great Value," an institution had to rank among the top 50 percent of similar universities academically. SUNY Fredonia placed in the second of four tiers rating the overall performances of universities in the north region. The school also ranked among the top 20 public schools in this section of the country.
 
To determine an institution's position, U.S. News weighed several factors. After dividing the country into four geographical regions - North, South, Midwest and West - the schools were placed into one of four categories:
 

national universities that had undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs such as Duke and Harvard;

 

liberal arts colleges that focus almost exclusively on undergraduate studies, such as Amherst (Mass.) College or Swarthmore (Penn.) College;

 

universities that had undergraduate and master's programs, but limited Ph.D. opportunities, such as SUNY Fredonia or St. Bonaventure University;

 

comprehensive colleges that focus on undergraduate studies but award less than half of their diplomas in the liberal arts, such as Grove City (Penn.) College.

 
 
Each institution was then assigned a composite score using data taken from 16 indicators of academic excellence based on statistics from 2001.
 
Although U.S. News did not disclose SUNY Fredonia's precise composite score, it was high enough to earn the university a spot between the top 43rd and 86th public and private schools in the North.
 
SUNY Fredonia excelled in the SAT/ACT scores of incoming students, accepting those who placed better than or equal to the new recruits at 62 of the top 86 northern schools, including 15 of the top 21 public universities.
 
SUNY Fredonia's average graduation rate of 59 percent placed in within the upper third of public universities, as did its alumni-giving rate of 19 percent.
 
The complete rankings of "America's Best College's" are also available online at www.USnews.com.