
Kiplinger’s value rankings are based on academic quality and affordability standards, including admission rates, freshman retention, student-faculty ratios, four-year graduation rates, cost and average debt at graduation.
In the 2017 best values reporting JMU has a 73 percent admission rate. The freshman retention rate is 91 percent and the four-year graduation rate is 66 percent. The student-faculty ratio is 16 to 1. The annual costs for an in-state student are $20,652, which includes tuition, fees, room and board, and estimated book expense.
The complete rankings are available here.