Campus briefs

The university was ranked No. 44 out of 100 in Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine's "Best Values in Private Colleges" of 2007.

California Institute of Technology ranked No. 1 on Kiplinger's list, followed by Yale University and Harvard University.

Institutions were selected based on the amount of merit-based and need-based aid they offer to students, as well as the school's academic excellence, student-faculty ratio and percentage of students who graduate in four years.

According to Kiplinger, Santa Clara students pay an average $42,594 per year to attend the university, which amounts to an average of $26,604 owed after distributed aid.

Kiplinger also reported that the average Santa Clara student graduates with $17,620 in debt, a figure that is nearly $2,000 below the national median.

"We do our best to make Santa Clara University affordable for everyone who wants to come here," said Interim Vice Provost for Enrollment Management Terry Shoup in a university press release.

"More than 77 percent of the incoming class of 2011 received some form of financial aid, a figure we're proud of," Shoup said.

Santa Clara's average student-faculty ratio of 12:1 and the nation's second-highest graduation rate among master's universities helped the university meet Kiplinger's standards for academic excellence.

From staff reports. E-mail news@thesantaclara.com.