Niagara University continues climb up U.S. News Rankings

Also listed as 'Up-and-Comer,' 'Best Value,' 'Best for Veterans'

Niagara University is a high-value educational institution on the rise that serves military veterans well, according to rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

NU is listed 50th (up from 54th a year ago) among the colleges and universities in the top tier of institutions in the northern U.S. that provide a full range of undergraduate and master's degree programs.

New this year, Niagara is one of only six regional institutions deemed a "2015 Up-and-Comer," a select list of schools cited most often by college presidents, provosts and admissions deans who were asked to identify schools on the rise. The nominations are based on institutions that they believe "have recently made the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty, student life, campus or facilities."

NU is once again among the 15 regional institutions deemed a "Best Value," a calculation that takes into account a school's academic quality and the 2013-14 net cost of attendance for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid.

The Catholic and Vincentian institution is also considered to be one of the region's "Best Colleges for Veterans," placing NU on the list of the "top-ranked schools that participate in federal initiatives helping veterans and active service members apply, pay for and complete their degrees."

"The rankings unveiled this morning by U.S. News & World Report are a testament to Niagara University's position as an institution with an incredibly bright future," said the Rev. James J. Maher, C.M., president of Niagara University. "To be ranked highly in so many critical categories by our peers and an independent evaluation of data illustrates that Niagara is clearly not in a state of retraction, but in a position that presents a wealth of great opportunities for our students and alumni."

The rankings, which are based on factors including peer assessment, tuition, acceptance rates, class sizes, graduation rates and average debt of graduates, will appear in U.S. News & World Report's 2015 Best Colleges guidebook. They also appear online.

This year's installment offers data on nearly 1,800 colleges and universities.

U.S. News said it updated the methodology for the 2015 rankings to reflect the current state of college admissions and better measure student outcomes.

For more information about Niagara University, visit www.niagara.edu.