Temple University climbed once again in the U.S. News & World Report annual rankings, moving from 125 to 121 among the top national institutions of higher education. Results from the ranking organization were made public on its website at midnight.

The university's climb among national universities is consistent with the image that is being reflected in other ways, said President Neil D. Theobald.

"Temple University has always been a quality institution, and we are now gaining attention for our efforts," said the president. "As we more aggressively tell the story about Temple's exceptional faculty, researchers and students, we continue to build momentum and visibility as a university on the rise."

Provost Hai-Lung Dai was also pleased with results.

"We are on track to reach our goal of entering the top 100 national universities by the year 2017," said the provost. "We have been making major efforts in improving retention and graduation rates. This year we invested in scholarships and financial aid to make us more competitive. These efforts brought us our best class ever, and their impact will no doubt emerge in next year's rankings."

The provost noted that this year's entering class is the most academically qualified class of new students in the university's history by a wide margin. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions estimates that the average SAT score of Temple's freshman class will be 1129 — 20 points higher than last year's average, 119 points higher than the national freshman average and 137 points higher than the most recent Pennsylvania average.

The most qualified class in Temple's history also is among the university's most diverse. About 37 percent of new students self-identify as other than white. The number of new African-American undergraduate students increased by 7 percent compared to last year, and the number of new Latino undergraduate students increased by 18 percent.

In addition to the overall national ranking, Temple once again made its mark as an “A+ school for B students.” The category highlights the excellence in academics available at the university.

The U.S. News rankings also released preliminary results for specialty programs, with the Fox School of Business making a major advance. This year Fox's Risk Management and Insurance program came in No. 5 in the nation, up from No. 6 last year. The program, which is also among the nation’s largest, is a perennial in the top 10.

“There is much discussion of the looming talent gap within risk management and insurance,” Dean M. Moshe Porat said. “The Fox School, as a global leader in risk management and insurance education and research, plays a vital role in closing this talent gap by providing stellar graduates who will lead the industry for years to come.”

Additional information on other portions of the U.S News rankings will be available later this week.