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STEUBENVILLE, OHIO—The 2016 U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges guide ranked ̽������ 20th out of 137 Midwest Universities. Ranked 30th in last year’s edition, this year’s ranking marks the 17th consecutive year Franciscan University has received a top-tier ranking and the first time the University has made the top 20 in its division.

Among the 12 evaluation categories used to assess the quality of a university education, Franciscan University ranked 4th best for its 6-year graduation rate (75 percent) and 8th best for its freshman retention rate (86 percent).

“�ճ����Best Colleges guide confirms what our alumni consistently tell me—that our Franciscan vision of academic excellence, combined with a dynamic faith environment and inviting campus culture, encourages students to stay here until they graduate,” said University President Father Sean O. Sheridan, TOR.

Read the page at U.S. News & World Report

Additionally, the University placed in the top 2 percent (number 29) among the guide’s 1,376 ranked schools in the number of students studying abroad. Each year, more than 350 Franciscan students broaden their cultural horizons and deepen their understanding of the roots of their Catholic faith during a semester of study at a restored 14th-century Carthusian monastery in Gaming, Austria. A projected 380 students—a record number—will study in Austria during the 2015-2016 school year.

This year, Franciscan University welcomed 640 new freshmen and transfer students, and more than 1,370 returning undergraduate students, meeting its enrollment goals for the 15th consecutive year.  This year’s top five majors are theology, business, nursing, education, and psychology.

Franciscan students come with an average GPA of 3.71, which is well above the national average of 3.39. Their average ACT score is 25.5, 20 percent higher than the national average of 21.

While Franciscan students hail from all 50 states and 13 countries, the top five states represented by new students include Ohio, California, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and New York. Fifty percent of the incoming class attended one of 21 ̽������ Youth Conferences held in 12 states and 2 Canadian provinces prior to enrolling at Franciscan.

In August, Franciscan University was included in FORBES list of America’s Top Colleges, ranking in the top 10 percent of all degree-granting institutions.

Located in southeastern Ohio, ̽������ offers an academically excellent education rooted in passionate Catholicism that forms a vibrant Catholic intellectual and faith community of more than 2,400 students. With more than 40 undergraduate and 8 graduate programs, students are prepared to succeed in a wide range of careers and vocations and sent forth as joyful disciples of Jesus Christ.