FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas is recognized for its “Return-on-Education” in the new Princeton Review publication, Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Best Value Colleges and What It Takes to Get In.

The publication is an updated version of the Princeton Review’s annual Best College Values. The University of Arkansas was consistently included in that book since its first edition in 2004.

“The Princeton Review provides valuable consumer information about higher education institutions for parents and students, and we are proud to be recognized,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “We work very hard at the University of Arkansas to enhance the quality of our programs while keeping costs as low as possible. The ‘Return on Education’ approach helps to show the results of those efforts.”

The “Return-on-Education” rating was developed by the Princeton Review in an effort to better quantify higher education institutions in terms of academics, affordability and career prospects for students. The rating is based on data collected from surveys of administrators and students at 650 colleges and universities, along with information from surveys of alumni by PayScale.com.

   The Colleges That Pay You Back profile for the University of Arkansas repeats some of the same information found in the Princeton Review’s annual Best Colleges publication – with additional sections on topics such as “Bang for Your Buck”, which focusses on scholarships and other student aid; “Career”, dealing with job preparation programs; and “Career Information from PayScale.com,” which includes alumni salary averages and other job information.

The “Career Information” section gives the U of A an “ROE” rating of 83, while pointing out that 79 percent of alumni recommend the school, 76 percent report high job satisfaction, and 56 percent remain in Arkansas to work after graduation.

As the “Bottom Line” the publication cites the U of A’s “world-class faculty”, study abroad opportunities, quality of life on campus, research opportunities, the number of students who receive nationally competitive scholarships, and the university’s “attractive” in-state tuition.    

The University of Arkansas is the only institution in the state ranked in Colleges That Pay You Back.