Online programs at the 麻豆原创 were ranked today by U.S. News & World Report as among some of the best in the nation.
In the publication鈥檚 2016 listing, the university鈥檚 online bachelor鈥檚 programs were ranked No. 20, a jump from No. 50 last year. The university鈥檚 online graduate criminal justice program, which was unranked last year, came in at No. 21, and the online nursing program was listed at No. 42.
More than 1,200 programs nationwide were evaluated for the rankings in eight categories.
鈥淎mong the reasons that we are successful are 麻豆原创鈥檚 particular emphasis in faculty preparation and comprehensive research and evaluation,鈥� said Tom Cavanagh, associate vice president of Distributed Learning, which oversees online courses. 鈥淎s the nation鈥檚 second-largest university, the 麻豆原创 has experienced significant growth within the past several years. A key component of that growth has been the strategic implementation of high-quality online learning options for students.鈥�
Now in its 20th year of offering online learning, 麻豆原创 is a recognized a leader having won almost every major award from every national organization in the field. The university offers 77 fully online degrees and certificates at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and has delivered 29,629 unique online and blended-course sections.
Anthropology major Lisa Benge said she appreciates the convenience of 麻豆原创鈥檚 online classes.
鈥淭hey are well organized鈥nd really help you stay on top of work and readings,鈥� she said. 鈥淏eing a stay-at-home mom it’s certainly a viable option for someone pursuing a degree. I’ve taken both on-campus and online classes and really have enjoyed the online option.鈥�
Jennifer Hamilton, director of clinical support at Nemours Children鈥檚 Hospital in Orlando, said that having classes online was critical to achieving her master鈥檚 degree in executive health services administration in 2014.
鈥淎s a hospital administrator, I work long hours, am sometimes on call, and needed the flexibility to manage my time allotted to school,鈥� she said. 鈥溌槎乖� was one of only a few programs nationwide that offered the course work and modality that met my needs.聽It is definitely a different way of learning, but I find the online modality truly a rewarding and unique experience for learning and collaboration.鈥�
During the 2014-15 academic year, nearly 38 percent of all 麻豆原创 student credit hours were generated by online modalities. Of the university鈥檚 more than 63,000 students, 55,530 of them, about 78 percent, took one or more online courses.
This past summer, nearly 12,000 students took exclusively online courses.
鈥淭hrough distance-learning technology, 麻豆原创 has been able to provide access to far more students than the physical infrastructure alone can support,鈥� Cavanagh said. 鈥淲e have also been a national leader in piloting adaptive learning, which helps to personalize the learning experience based upon individual student performance.鈥�
The Center for Distributed Learning also is the home of the Research Initiative for Teaching Effectiveness, which has been studying the efficacy and impact of online learning since the mid-1990s.
The university is considering a new initiative that would reduce the cost of online programs for distance students by eliminating campus-based fees. The initiative would also include student-success coaching for exclusively online students.
All of the national rankings are available here.