Aerial view of campus with Williamsport, the Susquehanna River and Bald Eagle Mountain as a backdrop

National Liberal Arts 25

Purpose of the National Liberal Arts 25 Comparison Group

In April 2004, the Board of Trustees approved a list of 25 colleges for use as a uniform group for all data review and comparison on campus. This group, referred internally as the National Liberal Arts 25 or LA25 Group, was revisited in 2011-12 by the Long Range Planning Committee, which recommended three changes to the Board of Trustees. In April 2012, the Board approved the LRP Committee's recommended changes.

The goal of the LA25 Group is to assist Lycoming in growing stronger by measuring itself against other strong schools with respect to a variety of attributes and characteristics. Importantly, the National Liberal Arts 25 Group is not a best practices group; rather, it is a way for Lycoming to gather information about how other institutions with similar missions are facing the challenges that confront all of higher education. The group's most appropriate use is for an institutional comparison, or one that focuses on multiple variables across the institution, rather than one component at a time. The LA25 Group is used to inform decision-making of several entities on campus including the Board of Trustees, the president and senior officers, and the Long Range Planning Committee.

Selection Criteria for National Liberal Arts 25 Comparison Group

The original National Liberal Arts 25 Group list in 2004 was created through a review of the following variables: curricular focus, enrollment size, financial strength, national reputation, and location.

When the Long Range Planning Committee reviewed the LA25 Group in the 2011-12 academic year, the committee believed the selection criteria needed to be expanded to reflect the complexities in the data they had analyzed over the past decade. The selection criteria for the 2012 revision of the LA25 Group included:

  • Institutional Control
  • Basic Carnegie Classification
  • Location
  • Enrollment Size
  • Percent of Students Receiving Pell Grants
  • Financial Measures
  • Undergraduate Focus
  • Full-time Enrollment
  • Faculty Profile
  • Student Outcomes
  • Residential Status
  • Financial Risk

Lycoming College community members can see more information about the criteria above and how they were applied by clicking here.

The National Liberal Arts 25 Group

Revised as of May 2023

  • Allegheny College (PA)
  • Augustana College (IL)
  • Austin College (TX)
  • Beloit College (WI)
  • Bethany College (WV)
  • Cornell College (IA)
  • Goucher College (MD)
  • Hanover College (IN)
  • Hartwick College (NY)
  • Hendrix College (AR)
  • Illinois College (IL)
  • Juniata College (PA)
  • Kalamazoo College (MI)
  • Knox College (IL)
  • Muhlenberg College (PA)
  • Ohio Wesleyan University (OH)
  • Randolph-Macon College (VA)
  • Roanoke College (VA)
  • Susquehanna University (PA)
  • Transylvania University (KY)
  • Ursinus College (PA)
  • Washington & Jefferson (PA)
  • Washington College (MD)
  • Westminster College (PA)
  • Wittenberg University (OH)