U.S. News & World Report Announces the 2013 Best Online Education Programs Rankings

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News & World Report released today the 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; however, U.S. News plans to include highlights in both the Best Graduate Schools 2014 and Best Colleges 2014 printed guidebooks.

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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 in their lifetimes—making online education, with its flexibility, an increasingly popular option.

And U.S. News is responding with data and rankings to help people sort out the best options for them.

"Online education is becoming an essential part of higher education," said U.S. News & World Report Editor and Chief Content Officer Brian Kelly. "Our goal has always been to provide our consumers with the most accurate information so that they may make their best decision. Incorporating online education rankings and data is the next step in providing our consumers with the information they need."

Greatly improved participation from schools and data collection enabled U.S. News to rank online education programs numerically this year. Factors used to compute the rankings this year include retention rates, graduation rates, and the indebtedness of students upon graduation.

Another difference with this year's rankings is that a small percentage of schools that were evaluated in 2012 were not evaluated for the 2013 edition. This was due to U.S. News converting to the new, federal government definition of distance education programs, meaning that degree-granting programs must offer 100 percent of their courses needed for the degree online.

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.

Data was collected from both for-profit and not-for-profit schools. There is no distinction between the two in the rankings. For more information about the rankings methodology, please go to www.usnews.com/onlinemeth.

For more information on the Best Online Education Programs rankings, please visit www.usnews.com/education/online-education or find us on Facebook or Twitter.

Best Online Education Program Rankings 2013
* For the full list of rankings, visit www.usnews.com/education/online-education:

About U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is a multi-platform, digital publisher of news and analysis, which includes the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, www.usnews.com, and www.rankingsandreviews.com. Focusing on Health, Money, Education, Travel, Cars, and Public Service/Opinion, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. U.S. News & World Report's signature franchise includes its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its "Best" series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, mutual funds, health plans, and more.

SOURCE U.S. News & World Report