Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine reported last week that the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign dropped to No. 30 on its 2007 list of the “50 Best Values in Public Colleges,” a steep fall from its spot at No. 8 a year ago.

This report is another negative publicity hit in a series of recent events that have cast a shadow on the University. The controversy surrounding the retirement of Chief Illiniwek along with a number of student athletes finding their ways into trouble have blemished the University’s image this year, but the lowered ranking comes backed up by empirical data that is hard to ignore.

Tuition has gone up and need-based aid has been cut in half, largely due to a tightening state budget and increasing utility costs. But these disparaging numbers caused the value-ranking to fall; it is not based on the actual experiences of quality education at the University.

The fear is that a lowered ranking might be a deterrent to students who heavily rely on such guides. However, current and future students should not be dismayed. The new list represents only a temporary setback in the struggle to repair the University’s damaged reputation.

The list also does not take into account that while the economic value of the school has gone down with rising student costs and decreasing student aid, the quality of education has remained the same. In fact, with more money coming in from higher tuition and new proposed allotments in the state budget, there is hope that quality will increase in the near future.

Students shouldn’t take rankings at face value. Despite burdening fee and tuition increases, the University is doing the things that need to be done to ensure educational excellence, helping to guarantee the same quality education for succeeding generations. The changes being made to buildings on campus, such as Lincoln Hall and the library, will bring the University to the forefront of technology and educational opportunities.

We also ask students to remember that tuition dollars are used to protect academic programs and quality in the face of lacking funds elsewhere. These numbers are more difficult to quantify in rankings and qualify as “value.”

The fact that the University retired Chief Illiniwek or that a few basketball and football players ran afoul with the law, will not degrade the value of your degree from the University. Especially not in five years.

A place on a list is not the only way to measure a degree from the University. We are confident that this is just small setback for a University that will continue its tradition of academic excellence.