Upasana Gupta - January 17, 2014
2014 Best Online Bachelor's and Master's Degree Programs
Tips to Help Students Select Online Education Programs
With hundreds of schools offering a host of online programs - including undergraduate, graduate and certification offerings - how do students make a smart choice about the one that's right for them?To help students make smart decisions about their online education, U.S. News has released the 2014 Best Online Program rankings. Now in their third year, the rankings cover online bachelor's degrees and online master's degrees in engineering, business, education, nursing and computer information technology.
About 1,000 educational institutions offering online degree programs submitted a completed U.S. News questionnaire during the summer of 2013. Here I have included factors and their individual weightage used by U.S. News in ranking the Best Online Programs, as well as, have added insights from online students' to understand how much these factors influenced their selection of an online program.
1. Student engagement: (weighting: 40 – previously 50 percent): This assesses the quality of online degree programs which promote participation in courses, allowing students opportunities to readily interact with their instructors and fellow classmates as is possible in a campus-based setting.
It is very important for prospective candidates looking to pursue an online degree to connect with former and current students of their shortlisted schools to learn about their experiences with the school and faculty. Ask how instructors work one-on-one with students? How often do they respond to queries? How engaged is the school to help students achieve their career goals? How good is their networking with companies in private and public sectors? Will I get a job afterward?
Angie Wetmore, a current online student enrolled in a master’s program at Walden University did extensive research before she selected the right school. "Online study is very different from face-to-face," she says. "Students should enroll in programs that let's them take charge of their online education in a very time-conscious way."
2. Faculty credentials and training (weighting: 20 – previously 25 percent): This evaluates the online programs based on the qualification and academic credentials of instructors delivering distance education. It also considers the resources available from the institution to train instructors on how to teach distance learners.
Prospective online candidates should check out the credentials of faculty members. Review faculty bios on the schools' websites to get instructors' academic and real-world experiences and see any research papers they may have published to determine if these instructors meet your qualifications to teach. Wetmore sought teachers with on-the-job know-how. "Professionals were very important – I wanted to know that the instructors were smarter than me and had real-world experience in the topics they were teaching." She also encourages prospective students to reach out directly to faculty members via e-mail or phone call to get a better feel for the program and the degree of personalized service they'll offer.
3. Peer reputation (weighting: 20 percent – not used in previous rankings): The rankings took into consideration industry opinion and their perception of the online program quality offered by educational institutions.
An adult learner enrolled in an online Bachelor's program for the last three years at Barclay College made his final decision to join the program, after he had spoken with school representatives and employers at professional conferences and assessed their materials with regard to available degree programs, costs, whether or not the school was accredited and how well the school was thought of in the educational community. "A big determining factor was having personal knowledge of the reputation of Barclay," he says.
4. Student services and technology (weighting: 20 percent – previously 25 percent): This assesses online programs that incorporates diverse online learning technologies allowing greater flexibility for students to take classes from a distance. Also, looks into how the program provides support structure, learning assistance, career guidance and financial aid resources to students.
Students looking to pursue an online program should go directly to the shortlisted school's academic program offerings on its website and look for the online program, which will give them more detailed information. They should also contact career counselors and faculty members to address specific questions, such as:
•How flexible are instructors in working with students offline?
•What kind of technical support the online programs offer?
•How is learning facilitated, through online discussions, webinars and/or video presentations?
•Can students access online sessions via tablets or mobile devices?
•What companies typically recruit students from these programs?
"Make sure you understand the expectations from an online program. Starting right is important," adds Wetmore. "Make sure that they have a proven track record of success. Ask questions like, what percentage of your students enter the job market in their field of study? Very, very important."
5. Admissions selectivity (weighting: 10 percent – previously 20 percent): This evaluates online programs on their ability to select students with proven aptitudes, ambitions and accomplishments who can handle the demands of rigorous course work.
List of Top Online Bachelor's and Master's Programs:
Best Online Bachelor's Programs
| Rank | School | Faculty Credentials and Training | Student Services and Technology | Student Engagement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Overall Score: 100 |
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI |
69 | 78 | 100 |
| #1 Overall Score: 100 |
SUNY College of Technology—Delhi
Delhi, NY |
100 | 60 | 88 |
| #3 Overall Score: 96 |
Pace University
New York, NY |
83 | 78 | 81 |
Best Graduate Education Programs
| Rank | School | Faculty Credentials and Training | Student Services and Technology | Student Engagement | Admissions Selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Overall Score: 100 |
Northern Illinois University
Dekalb, IL |
88 | 76 | 92 | 58 |
| #2 Overall Score: 98 |
Indiana University—Bloomington
Bloomington, IN |
97 | 43 | 96 | 55 |
| #3 Overall Score: 97 |
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI |
86 | 89 | 87 | 48 |
| Rank | School | Faculty Credentials and Training | Student Services and Technology | Student Engagement | Admissions Selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Overall Score: 100 |
Columbia University (Fu Foundation)
New York, NY |
83 | 80 | 100 | 100 |
| #2 Overall Score: 97 |
University of California—Los Angeles (Samueli)
Los Angeles, CA |
86 | 100 | 89 | 94 |
| #3 Overall Score: 93 |
University of Wisconsin—Madison
Madison, WI |
85 | 61 | 97 | 71 |
Best Graduate Online Business Programs
| Rank | School | Faculty Credentials and Training | Student Services and Technology | Student Engagement | Admissions Selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Overall Score: 100 |
Indiana University—Bloomington (Kelley)
Bloomington, IN |
79 | 51 | 88 | 84 |
| #2 Overall Score: 98 |
Arizona State University (Carey)
Tempe, AZ |
78 | 55 | 93 | 83 |
| #3 Overall Score: 97 |
University of Florida (Hough)
Gainesville, FL |
81 | 52 | 88 | 90 |
Best Graduate Computer Information Technology Programs
| Rank | School | Faculty Credentials and Training | Student Services and Technology | Student Engagement | Admissions Selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Overall Score: 100 |
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA |
85 | 100 | 84 | 99 |
| #2 Overall Score: 87 |
Boston University
Boston, MA |
81 | 71 | 88 | 73 |
| #2 Overall Score: 87 |
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA |
83 | 60 | 95 | 50 |
Best Graduate Online Nursing Programs
| Rank | School | Faculty Credentials and Training | Student Services and Technology | Student Engagement | Admissions Selectivity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Overall Score: 100 |
St. Xavier University
Chicago, IL |
95 | 52 | 100 | 89 |
| #2 Overall Score: 97 |
Medical University of South Carolina
Charleston, SC |
97 | 57 | 86 | 95 |
| #3 Overall Score: 96 |
University of Massachusetts—Amherst
Amherst, MA |
100 | 66 | 77 | 97 |