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Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine has announced its list of the 100 public colleges and universities that offer the best value for a top-notch education, with the University of Connecticut coming in at number 32.

“Despite rising tuition costs, there are still many first-rate institutions providing outstanding academics at an affordable price,” said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s. “Schools like these on the Kiplinger 100 list prove graduates can enter the workforce with a great education – and without a huge cloud of debt.”

The annual public school rankings appear in Kiplinger’s February 2011 issue – on newsstands now – and online.

The magazine says that web visitors will find special interactive features, including a reader’s choice poll, a slideshow of the top 10 schools, and data that can be sorted by criteria such as state, tuition cost, average debt, student/faculty ratio, and admission rate. It notes that “Parents and college-bound students can dive into dozens of quality and affordability measures for each of the 100 schools on the list.”

Selected from a pool of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities, schools in the Kiplinger 100 were ranked according to academic quality, including admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates, as well as on cost and financial aid, according to a Kiplinger’s news release.

A new UConn webpage details some of the reasons why the University is a great value.