EKU’s Online Degree Programs Fare Well in U.S. News Rankings

EKU is ranked among the best in the U.S. News & World Report’s recently announced 2014 Best Online Education Program Rankings. EKU is the highest-ranking Kentucky school among Best Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs and one of only two Kentucky schools to rank in the top 100 for Online Graduate Education Programs and Online Graduate Nursing Programs.

“Since our first online course was offered in 2006, we have aimed for excellence in online education,” said Dr. Janna Vice, provost. “We are extremely proud of our faculty, staff and students for achieving these honors.”

Nationally, EKU ranked 77th among Best Online Bachelor’s Degree Programs, 79th among Online Graduate Nursing Programs and 93rd among Online Graduate Education Programs. Nearly 1,000 distance education programs submitted a completed U.S. News questionnaire during the summer of 2013, up from 860 programs the previous year.

This is the third year that U.S. News has ranked online programs. The factor given the most weight in the methodology was student engagement, which included the accessibility and responsiveness of instructors and the ability to interact with faculty and classmates.

The 2014 rankings also included program ratings by peer institutions, a factor not included in the previous survey. According to the methodology, “Industry opinion accounts for intangible factors on program quality not captured by statistics.” For example, programs that have earned the respect of academics may also be held in higher regard by employers.

Reviewers also considered faculty credentials, resources for training instructors on distance learning, diversity of online learning technologies and staff support. Graduate programs were also evaluated on admissions selectivity.

See the full U.S. News rankings.

EKU Online offers more than 20 degree options in a variety of fields, including Public Administration, Nursing, Education, Psychology, Paralegal Studies, Police Studies, Corrections, Juvenile Justice, Occupational Safety, Fire Protection and Homeland Security. For more information, visit go.eku.edu/USNewsEKUOnline .

And in Graduate Education