Penn State’s Online Programs Are Highly Rated in U.S. News’ 2014 Online Education Rankings
University Park, Pa. (PRWEB) January 08, 2014 -- Penn State’s online campus, the World Campus, ranked in the Top 10 for its online undergraduate and graduate programs among the hundreds of higher education institutions included in U.S. News & World Report’s 2014 Best Online Programs rankings released today (Jan. 8).
Penn State World Campus rankings include:
- No. 3 for best online bachelor’s programs
- No. 5 for best online graduate engineering programs.
- No. 6 for best online graduate computer information technology programs.
“It’s very rewarding to have Penn State’s online education programs ranked among the best in the nation by U.S. News,” said Craig Weidemann, Penn State vice president for Outreach and vice provost for Online Education. “The high quality of our online education programs is a testament to the Penn State faculty and staff involved in developing and delivering these programs in a format that is convenient for busy adults who want to advance their careers.”
Penn State World Campus works in close partnership with Penn State’s academic colleges to deliver high-quality educational programs online to students around the world. In addition to the programs ranked in the Top 10 by U.S. News, two other online graduate programs were included in the rankings: business programs (No. 17) and education programs (No. 25).
For the second year, U.S. News has numerically ranked online degree programs. Five master’s degree disciplines are ranked: business, computer information technology, education, engineering, and nursing. Data for all undergraduate disciplines has been combined into a single online bachelor’s programs ranking. For 2014, U.S. News made several changes to its rankings and methodology process. Details are available at http://www.usnews.com/online.
Online education continues to grow in popularity, as shown in a Sloan Consortium survey, which found that more than 6.7 million students were enrolled in at least one online course in 2011.
Penn State is one of the first higher education institutions to offer online education, starting in 1998 with the launch of the World Campus. Since then, Penn State World Campus has continued to be selective about the degree programs it offers online to help graduates prepare for future career opportunities. The high quality and reputation of World Campus online programs is further reinforced by the fact that students are earning a Penn State degree without differentiating that the degree was earned online. Because the courses are the same as those offered on campus, World Campus students earn the same diploma from Penn State as earned by students who attended a physical campus.
The World Campus has been recognized with numerous awards, including the 2013 Gold Award in the Interactive Media-Streaming Video category from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association for web videos profiling World Campus students and the 2013 Outstanding Website Award in the Internet Advertising Competition.
Currently more than 13,200 students worldwide are enrolled online in the World Campus, which offers more than 100 graduate, undergraduate and professional education programs. Learn more about Penn State’s online education programs at http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/USNews14.
Deborah A. Benedetti, Penn State Outreach and Online Education, http://www.outreach.psu.edu/, +1 (814) 238-4895, [email protected]
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