U.S. News & World Report: 2013 Best Online Education Programs

Washington — Jan. 15

U.S. News & World Report has released its second annual rankings edition of the Best Online Education Programs.

For the first time, programs administered for distance learners that are 100 percent online will be ranked numerically, just like traditional colleges and graduate schools. Online bachelor's degree programs as well as graduate online degree programs in business, engineering, nursing, education and computer information technology were ranked.

There will be no print component to the Best Online Education rankings; U.S. News plans to include highlights in both the Best Graduate Schools 2014 and Best Colleges 2014 printed guidebooks.

Online education allows people to attend school without having to quit their jobs or disrupt their lives. According to Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce, people with a bachelor's degree earn 84 percent more than those with only a high school diploma over the course of a career — making online education, with its flexibility, an increasingly popular option.

Online bachelor's degree programs were ranked in three different categories: student engagement, faculty credentials and training and student services and technology. All of the online master's degree programs were ranked in admissions selectivity in addition to the bachelor's degree categories.

The engineering and business master's programs were also ranked based on ratings of their academic reputation by top academics who run online programs at peer institutions.

Best Online Education Program Rankings 2013
For the full list of rankings, click here.

Best Bachelor's Programs
1. Pace University (NY)
2. Dayton State College (Fla.)
3. St. John’s University (NY)

Best Business Programs (Graduate)
1. Washington State University
2. Arizona State University
3. Indiana University, Bloomington

Best Education Programs (Graduate)
1. St. John’s University (NY)
2. Auburn University (Ala.)
3. South Dakota State University

Best Engineering Programs (Graduate)
1. University of Southern California (Viterbi)
2. Pennsylvania State University — World Campus
3. Columbia University (Fu Foundation) (NY)

Best Nursing Programs (Graduate)
1. Ferris State University (Mich.)
2. Lamar University (Texas)
3. University of Michigan, Flint

Best Computer Information Technology Programs (Graduate)
1. University of Southern California (Viterbi)
2. Sam Houston State University (Texas)
3. Virginia Tech

Source: U.S. News & World Report