Photo by Nathan Gray

Anderson University was listed on the “Top Tier of U. S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges” and was cited as an “Up and Coming School.”

ANDERSON — For the second year in a row, Anderson University has been named one of a handful of private schools that are among “America’s 100 Best College Buys.”

The university is one of two in South Carolina and one of nine in the South to make the list.

University officials said being named to the list reaffirms the importance of “quality and affordability” in higher education.

“This is continuing confirmation that Anderson University is one of the most affordable private or public universities in America,” said Evans P. Whitaker, Anderson University president.

In South Carolina, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, Clemson and the University of South Carolina joined Anderson University on the list. When the State of South Carolina is combined with the states that border it, only four private institutions were given the “Best College Buy” designation.

Determined each year by Institutional Research and Evaluation, the “100 Best College Buys” must meet certain criterion. The school must be accredited; must offer full residential facilities; must have had an entering freshman class in 2006 with SAT/ACT scores or high school grad-point averages (GPAs) at or above the national average for entering college freshmen and must have an out-of-state cost of attendance in 2007-2008 for three quarters or two semesters below the national average cost of attendance or not exceeding the national average cost by more than 10 percent.

In addition, Anderson University was listed in the top 100 of the 2009 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges report.

In that report, Anderson ranked 33 in baccalaureate colleges in the South and was named one of the top three up-and-coming baccalaureate colleges in the South, along with High Point University in High Point, NC and LaGrange College in LaGrange, Ga.