Not for the first time – actually for the fourth time in four years – the national ranking of colleges and universities, published by the U.S. News & World Report, placed Oregon State University in the top five schools for online learning – which given the current circumstances, is kind of important just now.
To assess the best colleges, U.S.News weighed different aspects of the classroom experience.
Student engagement held 35% of the formula.
Services and technologies weighed in at 25% of the score.
The faculty, their credentials and training came in at 20%.
The last 20% accounted for expert opinions – meaning how well-thought-of the institution is.
OSU is ranked No. 5 overall in online Bachelor’s degrees and also:
No. 2 in online B.A. and B.S. in Psychology degrees.
No. 13 in online Bachelor’s degree programs for veterans.
No. 24 in online Master’s degree programs in Engineering.
While some unscrupulous companies threaten the reputation of online education by either running“diploma mills” for con artists only interested in acquiring realistic-looking credentials, providing resident aliens with a green card figleaf to make it seem they are attending school, or simply taking tuition money for worthless “education,” reputable institutions like OSU are creating a new form of education that takes distance learning beyond the old concept of a “correspondence school.”
Congratulations once again to our very own Oregon State for making the grade.
By John M. Burt
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