UF Online earned a new distinction among the nation’s online colleges.
SR Education group, which publishes reviews and rankings of online colleges, ranked UF Online 19th out of 20 of the nation’s online institutions this month based off data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Kim Wetter, SR Education Group marketing manager, said the ranking will help prospective students learn they can earn a degree online from prestigious universities.
“(UF has) a variety of degrees, which is helpful,” Wetter said. “Other than that, they’re one of the public institutions that has notoriety and prestige. They’re big enough to enter into the online college industry and make their mark.”
Stanford University, Columbia University and Duke University took the top three spots.UF Online opened January 2014, and there are about 1,000 students. It has 102 online degrees and an acceptance rate of 46.55 percent.
Andrew McCollough, UF Online interim director, said UF made the list because it’s an online program within a well-branded university.
“Our aspiration is to deliver to undergraduates the highest possible quality education in our parameters, and we won’t be satisfied until we deliver,” McCollough said.
Wetter said SR Education Group compiled data for four months. To be considered, schools had to offer a minimum of three online bachelor’s or master’s degrees.
Schools had to be regionally accredited, nonprofit and fully online, meaning that on-campus requirements had to be minimal enough that students could maintain current employment.
Schools with rolling admission were omitted to avoid skewed data of acceptance rates.
Online education is inevitable, Wetter said, so students deserve to know what the best available programs are.
“It’s just the way technology and society are going,” she said.
UF Online earned a new distinction among the nation’s online colleges.
SR Education group, which publishes reviews and rankings of online colleges, ranked UF Online 19th out of 20 of the nation’s online institutions this month based off data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Kim Wetter, SR Education Group marketing manager, said the ranking will help prospective students learn they can earn a degree online from prestigious universities.
“(UF has) a variety of degrees, which is helpful,” Wetter said. “Other than that, they’re one of the public institutions that has notoriety and prestige. They’re big enough to enter into the online college industry and make their mark.”
Stanford University, Columbia University and Duke University took the top three spots.UF Online opened January 2014, and there are about 1,000 students. It has 102 online degrees and an acceptance rate of 46.55 percent.
Andrew McCollough, UF Online interim director, said UF made the list because it’s an online program within a well-branded university.
“Our aspiration is to deliver to undergraduates the highest possible quality education in our parameters, and we won’t be satisfied until we deliver,” McCollough said.
Wetter said SR Education Group compiled data for four months. To be considered, schools had to offer a minimum of three online bachelor’s or master’s degrees.
Schools had to be regionally accredited, nonprofit and fully online, meaning that on-campus requirements had to be minimal enough that students could maintain current employment.
Schools with rolling admission were omitted to avoid skewed data of acceptance rates.
Online education is inevitable, Wetter said, so students deserve to know what the best available programs are.
“It’s just the way technology and society are going,” she said.
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 4/21/2015]
