U.S. News ranks HU as ‘Best College,’ ‘Best Value’
FOR RELEASE: Saturday, September 13, 2014
HUNTINGTON, Ind. U.S. News & World Report has ranked Huntington University in the top 15 "Best Regional Colleges," top 5 "Best Values" and top 5 "Best Regional Colleges for Veterans." In the 2015 edition of the magazine's guide to the nation's Best Colleges, U.S. News named Huntington a top-three school in Indiana and No. 14 in the Midwest. Also in the Midwest category, HU earned the No. 5 spot on the Best Values list and was ranked No. 4 on the Best Colleges for Veterans list.
"The U.S. News rankings highlight the quality and value of a Huntington University education," said Dr. Mike Wanous, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. "These rankings echo what we hear consistently from outside evaluations: that Huntington University is a great place to come for an excellent, affordable, Christ-centered education."
To rank schools, U.S. News first organizes colleges and universities by category and then ranks them within each region. U.S. News defines regional colleges as those that "focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than 50 percent of their degrees in liberal arts disciplines; this category also includes schools that have small bachelor's degree programs but primarily grant two-year associate degrees." Rankings are based on the following criteria: graduation and retention rates (22.5 percent), peer assessment (22.5 percent), faculty resources (20 percent), student selectivity (12.5 percent), financial resources (10 percent), graduation rate performance (7.5 percent), and alumni giving (5 percent).
"We rank highly in the Regional Colleges category because of our low class sizes, high graduation rate and favorable rating by peer institutions," Wanous said. "In fact, Huntington University 'over-performs' relative to U.S. News' predictive model. This confirms what we hear from our students, that they appreciate the close community and dedication of faculty and staff to student learning."
Factored into the Best Values rankings are the 2015 U.S. News Best Colleges standings and the 2013-2014 net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. According to U.S. News, "The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the value. Only schools ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included, because U.S. News considers the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically."
"We also ranked as the Best Value among Christian colleges in Indiana in the Regional Colleges category," Wanous said. "This is due to our high rating for academic quality combined with our affordability."
Schools on the Best Colleges for Veterans list are added based on their 2015 Best Colleges rankings and their participation in federal initiatives assisting veterans and active-duty service members apply for, fund and complete their degrees.
U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked Huntington University on its Best Colleges list. This is the 15th consecutive year that the university was listed among the top 20 schools in the Midwest. For the seventh consecutive year, Forbes and The Princeton Review named Huntington one of the top colleges in the country and the Midwest, respectively.
All U.S. News rankings are available online at www.usnews.com/colleges.
