I was more than a little surprised by the top 10 list. There was only 1 or maaaaybe 2 that I would have guessed. As always, it's all about the criteria. Best Online Bachelor's Programs | Online Bachelor's Rankings | US News
Interesting - it looks like they didn't look at colleges that are predominantly DL like the big three. Instead they looked at traditional colleges who have DL programs in addition to their B&M programs.
Seeing Daytona State College listed a #2 for the "Best" Online Bachelor's programs over ERAU or UF is pretty laughable. It's like saying McDonald's is better than Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.
The reasons that these ranking appear wonky is because US News And World Report places a much greater rank on "reputation" than many other listing do. The result is a kind of catch 22 for many DL programs because the have a lower reputation because they are distance ed! Here is another ranking that produces a very different list: 2014 Most Affordable U.S. Online College Rankings We see many schools the US News has ranked in the middle tier such as Fort Hayes rise to the top when cost is factored. I remain consistently impressed by how Fort Hayes can offer their degrees so inexpensively for a RA institution. US News ranks their reputation as 82 and yet their undergrad tuition is less than 5K a year. One is getting a B- grade education for an F grade price. It can't be beat for value.
Hi Blue - I know it's probably repetitive for you but would you tell us something about your Fort Hays experience? Customer service, coursework, instructors, etc. Lots of people are aware of their programs but have difficulty in choosing one school over another. These first hand experiences are often the difference makers. Thanks.
Hmmm...WSU made it to number 20? When I was in residence at the school the distance learning center was very small subset with not that many offerings or students taking advantage of it. It has grown a lot in the last decade it seems.
CSU Global #7 and APUS #27 are 100% online. My guess is that EC and TESC chose not to fill out the questionnaire. EC didn't participate last year either.
My undergrad from FHSU was a Bachelor of Science in Information Networking and Telecommunications with a major in Computer Networking. I found the INT courses very good - great profs (Dr. Shaffer was one of my favourites) who were accommodating and easy to get along with. The course work was challenging at times (I already had an extensive computer / networking background, so some of it was not as difficult for me) and rewarding; the cisco networking courses were bang on and required work. The Gen Ed courses were also good, with a couple of profs who were not at all involved and one was just a jackass (appropriate feedback provided.) - but overall they were pretty good. I had two student advisors and both were absolutely great to work with - they responded quickly and did whatever they could to help out. Just last year I emailed and inquired about the possibility of doing another undergrad and had the information I sought within days - outstanding service for an alumni. My only gripe about FHSU at the time was that courses are picked based on seniority and the degree was mostly done in reverse, meaning that I did most of my major's courses before the Gen Ed courses; I don't know whether that is unique to FHSU or not, but I would have much preferred a mix with the bulk of the INT courses towards the last two years before completing. Would I recommend FHSU? Absolutely - without hesitation. Was it perfect? No, but I'm not aware of any University, online or B&M that is.
Please be more specific. How do you feel their ratings are laughable? What methods do you support to back up your disagreement with the rankings? By what means do you compare McDonald's with an issue concerning education?
