Out of 646 colleges considered, N.C. State was No. 2 on the Princeton Review‘s list of the best-valued public colleges in the nation.

As a land-grant institution, it is the responsibility of the administration, the Board of Trustees, the UNC Board of Governors and the legislature to offer a top-notch college education at an affordable price, especially considering North Carolina’s rebounding economy.

But we have a sneaking suspicion that this prestigious ranking will end up somewhere else in the upcoming year — on the administration’s list of reasons why we need to raise tuition and fees.

Provost Larry Nielsen said the University’s core mission is to provide a great education at a reasonable price. That’s probably warranted, especially since the state constitution dictates that the legislature extend an education to state residents free of expense, “as far as practicable.”

It is the implementation of this mission that gave N.C. State the ranking it received from the Princeton Review, and it is a mission NCSU needs to keep.

This is why the University needs to make a decision to keep tuition low and hold on to this ranking, providing more opportunities to better the state’s future financial income.

With students coming from various backgrounds and various levels of income, they will later spread their degrees back across the state.

The affordability of the school makes this possible, bringing in hard workers who are dedicated to getting an education.

Out of our peer universities, NCSU has the lowest tuition rate, which means we don’t have much reason to complain.

But this ranking shows the attention we are receiving nationally and in turn will continue to produce more applicants to the University, making it academically stronger each year.

When it again comes time to analyze tuition and fees, the administration should not use this ranking as an excuse. Instead, they should use it as a reason to keep tuition low.

After all, we’re not No. 1 yet.