The number of topped 6 million in fall 2016, according to a 2018 report from Babson Survey Research Group, with around 3 million of those learners exclusively taking distance education classes in either graduate and undergraduate programs. The report, based on U.S. Department of Education data, indicates that the number of students in distance education courses increased by 5.6 percent over the previous year.
With so many options available to students, U.S. 草莓传媒 has ranked the for the eighth consecutive year. U.S. 草莓传媒 ranked as well as master’s programs in , , , , and . programs were split from other business degrees and ranked separately.
[See: .]
U.S. 草莓传媒 also ranked the Best Online Programs for Veterans. To be eligible for the veterans category, schools must be in the top half of the rankings of Best Online Programs; certified for the GI Bill; and participate in the Yellow Ribbon Program or be a public institution that offers in-state tuition costs, which can be fully paid through the GI Bill for veterans from out of state. Finally, online bachelor’s programs must have a minimum enrollment of 25 veterans and active service members; the requirement is 10 for master’s programs.
The top-ranked online bachelor’s programs for veterans in the 2019 edition are at No. 1, at No. 2 and at No. 3.
Across all categories, U.S. 草莓传媒 has ranked 1,545 accredited online degree programs, marking the largest ranking to date of distance education providers. Factors considered in the rankings include student engagement, services and technologies, faculty credentials and training, and expert opinion on the academic quality of programs. Student excellence is also considered for schools offering online master’s degree programs.
U.S. 草莓传媒 ranks programs that operate predominantly online, though a school with in-person orientations, clinical requirements, testing and support services may also be included. The rankings do not differentiate between programs operated by for-profit and nonprofit schools. Blended learning programs, which involve significant in-person and online instruction, are not included.
Some programs saw major gains or drops in the rankings, typically due to schools completing survey questions they hadn’t in the past and minor adjustments to the methodologies. The total number of programs submitting data continues to rise each year, which also has an impact.
Here are some of the top online degree programs in the 2019 rankings.
Bachelor’s: Among online colleges, Embry-Riddle claimed No. 1, improving from a tie for No. 2 last year. Arizona State came in at No. 2, up from No. 4. , last year’s No. 1, slipped in the 2019 rankings to No. 3, tied with Oregon State University, which improved from the No. 6 spot.
Schools that made big leaps in the online bachelor’s programs rankings include the , which came in tied for No. 8, a drastic improvement from being tied for No. 60 last year, and the , tied at No. 12, up from a previous tie at No. 77.
MBA: Indiana University–Bloomington’s and the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill’s tied at No. 1 in the rankings of online MBA programs. Last year, Indiana tied for No. 2 and UNC landed at No. 4. Carnegie Mellon University’s moved to No. 3, down from a tie at No. 2 last year.
Among the big shifts in online MBA programs, surged from a tie at No. 61 last year to a tie for No. 13. Similarly, climbed the ranks to a tie at No. 17, up from a tie at No. 54 in the 2018 rankings.
[See: The 20 Best Online MBA Programs.]
Business (master’s, non-MBA): In the rankings of online business master’s programs, moved up to No. 1 from a tie for No. 2 last year. moved down one spot from No. 1 in 2018 to a tie for No. 2 this year with the University of Southern California’s , which previously came in at a tie for No. 13. Arizona State University’s slipped from a tie at No. 2 to No. 6.
Education (master’s): Among online master’s in education programs, Clemson University’s maintained its No. 1 ranking from last year, though now in a tie with the for the top spot. Florida was ranked No. 2 in education last year. Some programs made big leaps in these rankings; for example, shot up from No. 115 last year to a tie for No. 3 with , which was previously tied at No. 5.
Nursing (master’s): climbed to No. 1 in this year’s rankings of online nursing graduate programs, up from a tie at No. 5. maintained its spot at No. 2, and came in at No. 3, falling from the top spot that it held in 2018.
[See: .]
Engineering (master’s): The top online engineering programs stayed the same as last year, with Columbia University’s coming in at No. 1, and a tie for No. 2 between the University of California–Los Angeles and the University of Southern California’s .
Computer information technology (master’s): The once again boasts the No. 1 online computer information technology program. came in at No. 2 and at No. 3; the two schools were previously tied for second place in these rankings, which take into account computer science and computer engineering programs.
Criminal justice (master’s): The landed at No. 1 in the 2019 rankings of online criminal justice programs, up from its previous tie for No. 3 with the , which rose to No. 2 this year. ranked No. 3, slipping from the top spot it held last year in these rankings, which include criminology programs.
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