(Posted September 23, 2013)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College was named as one of 10 Up and Coming Schools among national liberal arts colleges in the 2013 U.S. News & World Report Rankings released Sept. 10. Juniata also retained its ranking in the Top 100 Liberal Arts Colleges in the magazine's annual poll.

U.S. News' Up and Coming rankings are derived from the magazine's peer assessment portion of the poll. College administrators are asked to identify institutions "that are making the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty and student life."

"It's gratifying to be recognized as an innovative college by our colleagues across the country. The faculty and staff at Juniata are never content to 'sit on their laurels.' The college is always searching for ways to improve the college and our students' educational experience."

James Troha, president, Juniata College

Juniata is one of three colleges from Pennsylvania to be included in the prestigious ranking. Ursinus College, in Collegeville, Pa., and Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., also were ranked. The remaining colleges in the Up and Coming category are: Berry College, in Mount Berry Ga.; Hendrix College, in Conway, Ark.; Roanoke College, in Salem, Va.; University of Richmond, in Richmond, Va.; Beloit College, in Beloit, Wis.; College of St. Benedict, in St. Joseph, Minn.; and Wofford College, in Spartanburg, S.C.

"It's gratifying to be recognized as an innovative college by our colleagues across the country," says James Troha, who started work as the new president of Juniata June 1. "The faculty and staff at Juniata are never content to 'sit on their laurels.' The college is always searching for ways to improve the college and our students' educational experience."

Juniata shares its 100th national ranking with six other institutions: Albion College in Albion, Mich.; Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill.; Bennington College in Bennington, Vt.; Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.; Hope College in Grand Rapids, Mich.; and Ohio Wesleyan College, in Delaware, Ohio.

In other rankings publications Juniata was listed 36th out of 70 institutions rated in the Washington Monthly 2013 "Best Bang for Your Buck" College Rankings, a new wrinkle in the magazine's poll that measures "the economic value students receive per dollar." Juniata rose five places to 86th in Washington Monthly's Larger Best Liberal Arts Colleges poll. Juniata was ranked 91st in the 2012 poll.

"It's a new era for many colleges and universities in that students and families are much more concerned with the financial cost of higher education and Juniata's recognition as a financial value shows us we are on the right path as an educational community," Troha says.

Juniata received another endorsement on affordability as Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine ranked Juniata 97th out of 200 colleges and universities in its "Best Values in Private Colleges" 2013 rankings.

Juniata also was rated 178th in the 2013 Forbes.com College Rankings, which rates all colleges and universities nationwide. Juniata's 178 ranking is out of 3,500 colleges and universities. Juniata ranked 174th in last year's poll.

Other Pennsylvania colleges in the U.S. News Top 100 are: Swarthmore College (3rd); Haverford College (9th); Bryn Mawr College (30th); Bucknell University (32nd); Lafayette College (36th); Dickinson College and Franklin & Marshall College and (45th); Gettysburg College (50th); Muhlenberg College (65th); Ursinus College and Allegheny College (82nd); and Washington & Jefferson College (97th).

Additionally, Juniata also was included in the "Fiske Guide to Colleges 2013," one of more than 300 institutions rated by the prestigious guide. Juniata also remains one of just 40 colleges featured in the recently updated and overhauled college guidebook "Colleges That Change Lives," by a former New York Times education editor, the late Loren Pope. The new edition is by Hilary Masell Oswald.

Finally, Juniata was chosen as one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education, according to the Princeton Review, the New York-based company known for its education, admission and test-prep services. Juniata was selected for the Princeton Review annual college guide "The Best 378 Colleges."

According to guidelines established by the Carnegie Foundation and adopted by U.S. News, institutions that award at least 50 percent of their undergraduate degrees in liberal arts are defined as liberal arts schools.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.