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West Virginia University scored low numbers in USA Today last week and campus administrators couldnt be happier.

The newspaper charted student costs at 75 flagship schools across the country in its annual College Tuition and Fees Survey, and of those, WVU showed the 14th lowest in-state tuitionwhile cracking the top 20 among schools that offer the most affordable tuition for out-of-staters.

In-state students pay just $4,476 a yearas opposed to the $12,164 residents of the Keystone State pay to attend Pennsylvania State University, the surveys chart-topper.

WVU students who come to campus from outside the Mountain States borders pay $13,840, in contrast to the $29,131 assessed to non-residents attending University of Michigan, which was the most expensive in that category.

West Virginia University is a great value in higher education among flagship universities across the country, WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr., said of the survey findings.

Test scores coming in show our students to be top-notch, and they take classes from professors and researchers who are doing amazing things in the classroom and laboratory,Hardesty said.The best part of all is that were accessible to West Virginians at a quality that rivals what they could find in any state. Were something thats certain, in uncertain times.

Basic fees for full-time, first-year freshmen were factored into the USA Today survey, which looked at schools in all 50 states. Supplemental costs like book fees and room and board were not included.

The University of Florida at Gainesville had the lowest in-state tuition at $3,206.

Along with USA Today, WVU is routinely listed as one of the 100 best buys in the nation byThe Student Guide to Americas 100 Best College Buys,a book that

annually profiles schools that are academically superior but relatively inexpensive.

* WVU by the (academic) numbers*

• WVU boasts 25 Rhodes Scholars; 17 Truman Scholars and 29 Goldwater Scholars (including one dual Truman-Goldwater recipient); two British Marshall Scholars and Morris K. Udall scholars apiece, and five USA Today All-USA Academic First Team members.

• WVU s student body this fall has crested at approximately 26,750making for a fifth consecutive record enrollment.

• Faculty in recent years have conducted $150 million annually in sponsored contracts and research grants, and that output has designated WVU aResearch University,as classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

• Morgantown, the Universitys home, was recently ratedNo. 1 Small City in Americaby BizJournals.com for its exceptional quality of life.