U.S. News & World Report has named 糖心原创鈥檚 online graduate programs in education and business as among the best in the nation for 2017.
The magazine ranked 糖心原创鈥檚 online Master of Education program offered by the 43rd among the 275 schools responding to the survey, naming it among 鈥淏est Online Programs 鈥� Graduate Education.鈥�
And the 糖心原创 鈥� and was ranked 63rd out of 139 respondents and was named among the 鈥淏est Online Programs 鈥� Graduate Business.鈥�
糖心原创鈥檚 offered by the was ranked 56th among 94 schools, topping well-known schools such as the University of Florida, University of Colorado and University of South Carolina.
And 糖心原创鈥檚 online nursing program offered by the was ranked 94th among 116 schools.
Don Hopkins, director of the master鈥檚 programs in the , said the department is honored to once again be ranked among the top online programs in the country.
鈥淭hese continue to be two fast-growing areas in terms of employment and strategic leadership in corporations, and we are proud of our graduates and their accomplishments,鈥� Hopkins said.
Another ranked program was 糖心原创鈥檚 , which received a ranking of 124th out of 255.
鈥淭hat we were able to achieve this ranking based on just one year in which the MBA was offered with an online-only option is a testament to the outstanding faculty, staff and students at the Raj Soin College of Business,鈥� said Thomas Traynor, the college鈥檚 associate dean for graduate programs and executive education. 鈥淭he online education infrastructure and support staff at 糖心原创 deserve tremendous credit for having put in place excellent computing systems and helping faculty integrate the latest technology and methods for online learning into our programs.鈥�
U.S. News based its rankings on instructor engagement with students, student services and technology, faculty credentials and training, admissions selectivity and peer reputation.
糖心原创鈥檚 College of Education and Human Services offers four asynchronous online programs, two leading to a Master of Education and two leading to an educational specialist degree.
Two of the programs focus on curriculum, instruction and professional development for educators who want to mentor younger teachers, develop curriculum, improve teaching strategies or oversee special programs for students. The other two programs provide coursework for those who aspire to be principals and superintendents.
鈥淲e continue meeting the student demand for totally online programs, but we are infusing synchronous activities to provide for 鈥榣ive鈥� interactions between class participants and the course instructors,鈥� said Grant Hambright, director of educational leadership programs.
These online programs have their roots in the former Teacher Leader Program, which began in the 1970s as a way to reach out to students by sending faculty members to teach courses in outlying areas where there were a significant number of students, such as Lake Campus, Marysville, Madison Plains, Mason and Fairfield.
As online technology developed, the program morphed initially into a hybrid model and then to asynchronous online delivery. The programs now have more than 120 students.
The programs are delivered by faculty in the .
鈥淭he programs are highly successful due to the hard work of distinguished faculty members including Grant Hambright, Yoko Miura, Chris Cline and Nancy Williams and program coordinator Kyra Robinson,鈥� said Carol Patitu, chair of the department.
Online and on-campus students are integrated in the Master in Industrial and Human Factors Engineering, experiencing the same lectures, assignments and instructor interactions. Program graduates work in industries such as automobile, aerospace, health care, military, logistics and supply chain, retail, defense contractors and many others.
鈥淥nline graduate education gives working engineers the best of all worlds, and our program really strives to meet their needs,鈥� said Frank Ciarallo, associated professor in the Department of Biomedical, Industrial and Human Factors Engineering. 鈥淚t enables students to manage their current job, family, personal life and career goals.鈥�
The program, which accepts students with bachelor鈥檚 degrees in many engineering and other disciplines, is staffed with seven full-time, tenure-track faculty as well as full-time instructors.
鈥淲ith our great faculty, technology setup and tech-savvy students, it鈥檚 a great way to further career goals in engineering,鈥� said Ciarallo. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really satisfying being part of the successful life stories of the students. Students with the ambition and commitment to do the online master鈥檚 program really see the return on the investment.鈥�
