U.S. News & World Report has named 糖心原创鈥檚 online graduate programs in business, engineering and nursing as among the best in the nation for 2019.
The magazine based its rankings on instructor engagement with students, student excellence, student services and technology, expert opinion, and faculty credentials and training. Scores were calculated using data that the program reported to U.S. News in a statistical survey and from data collected in a separate peer reputation survey.
U.S. News ranked 糖心原创鈥檚 online and programs offered by the Raj Soin College of Business 33rd among the 156 schools responding to the magazine鈥檚 survey. The programs鈥� score of 70 ranked higher than those of such schools as the University of Cincinnati, Syracuse and Oklahoma.
The specialized programs offer a hybrid approach through on-campus and online learning experiences. Each class has one full day of residency then five weeks online, with students taking one class at a time. The programs enable students to continue working full time while obtaining their master鈥檚 degree in just one year.
The online ranked 175th, with a score of 53, out of the 232 schools responding to the survey.
The online offered by the College of Engineering and Computer Science was ranked 41st among the 74 respondents. The program鈥檚 score of 64 ranked higher than those of schools such as Clemson, Duke and Villanova.
Online and on-campus students are integrated in the Master in Industrial and Human Factors Engineering Program, 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.
Brian Rigling, interim dean of the , said the development, maintenance and offering of these online programs represents a major investment of time and effort by faculty in response to student demand for more flexible pathways to degree completion.
鈥淐learly, their efforts are paying dividends for the communities that we serve,鈥� said Rigling. 鈥淲e will continue to expand our online offerings and innovate in that space.鈥�
Frank Ciarallo, associate professor of biomedical, industrial and human factors engineering, said the online format provides course content to enrolled students with as little as an internet connection and a computing device with a screen.
鈥淲orking professionals pursuing a degree as well as full-time students can use their time in a flexible way,鈥� said Ciarallo. 鈥淔rom watching lectures to working on assignments and projects to interacting with our world-class faculty, the online mode works well for degree-seekers with busy lives.鈥�
He said one reason for the high ranking from U.S. News is the faculty鈥檚 ability to engage students effectively in the online mode.
鈥淭his happens in delivering content through lectures as well as personal one-on-one interaction,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur small class sizes support this, but it鈥檚 really driven by our faculty鈥檚 commitment to the students in the program.鈥�
Online graduate programs offered by the were ranked 126th, with a score of 60, out of 141 respondents.
