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U.S. News Starts Collecting Data on Online Bachelor's Degree Programs

July 21, 2011 RSS Feed Print

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U.S.News & World Report recently started its first-ever effort to collect detailed data from all online bachelor's degree-level education programs in the United States. We sent surveys to around 1,800 colleges and universities that are regionally accredited by one of the six regional accrediting agencies in the United States for bachelor's level education. The school profile data, such as the technology used in online education, will be based on the current state of each school's online bachelor's degree program. In conjunction, we will give all regionally accredited colleges in the country a chance to say if they will have an online bachelor's degree program during the upcoming 2011-12 academic year. This process will enable us to achieve one of our main goals of the online data collection: to create the first-ever comprehensive list of all colleges currently offering online bachelor's degree programs.

In order to qualify as an online bachelor's degree program, the degree program has to offer at least 80 percent of its program course content online. U.S. News has adopted the industry standard definition (detailed on page 4 of this report) from The Sloan Consortium of what it means to qualify as having an online degree program. This does mean that some online programs on our upcoming bachelor's degree online directory, search engine, and rankings will have limited amounts of on-campus or other types of face-to-face requirements. (In other words, all the programs will not be delivered 100 percent online.)

In addition, all online bachelor's degree programs offered by private, public, and for-profit schools are eligible to participate in the U.S. News survey. This means that our new compilation of online bachelor's degrees will not only include programs at some colleges that are 100 percent online, but will also include those offered by traditional schools that have both online and classroom-based, face-to-face programs.

Many online bachelor's degree programs eligible to complete the survey are degree completion programs geared toward working adult students who have already earned some college credits and want to finish their bachelor's degree. Degree completion programs are an important aspect of online education at the undergraduate level.

For the first time, we are collecting unduplicated counts on students, faculty, and program graduates using a July 1 to June 30 academic year period. The many online degree programs we talked to when developing the surveys said that a one-year time period using unduplicated counts would yield data that would most accurately reflect the annual scope of each of these programs.

For more information about the actual start of the online data collection for the 5 graduate schools (the master's levels in business, computer information technology, education, engineering, and nursing), online program rankings, or the new online education site, please check this blog for updates.

Past posts our about online project include:

U.S. News to Collect Online Education Data

U.S. News Seeks to Fill 3 Gaps in Online Education Data

If your college has any questions about the online bachelor's survey, including which persons at your institution have access to our secure online data collection site, contact OnlineEd-Official@usnews.com.

Tags:: rankings,; colleges,; online education,; college admissions

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This is the wave of the future. Online students get as much or perhaps more experience in researching and writing, I feel. I am at American Public University. They have a fully accredited (regional and national) set of programs in a wide variety of fields. The one downside is that you lack the face to face relationship building that is so vital to a career. It is not for lack of dedication, just proximity. The teachers are all great, helpful, and willing to foster and mentor students of any age. Issues of older folks returning to college really blossomed in the 1980s, and this trend continues, aided by online education. Many professional organizations have delivered training content via the web for years, but the online school is a true school experience because a strict schedule for completion is standard. It is not self paced, it is school. Most of the students I interact with are already working in a professional capacity in their course of study (mine is Environmental Science). A true rating will look at the ancillary support a school offers by way of the new web media available and networking with job opportunities, etc.

Henry of OH 9:44PM January 04, 2012

I am currently finishing my online degree with Kaplan University online. I am a travel nurse, which means that I am in different parts of the country for four to thirteen week contracts in hospitals that have temporary needs for staff. My original nursing degree is from a two year program. Soon after graduation, I realized that most hospitals required a BSN as a minimum requirement, so I began to look at programs that would fit the need and my diverse work schedule. I chose Kaplan because they offered a bridge program (RN to BSN to MSN), classes were in 10 week terms, the price was competitive, and the admissions were rolling. I have found that the online programs are user friendly, even for those less than computer literate, and the classes are set up for student success, given that you do the work and put the time into it. This is not to say that the classes are easy, but that you are provided the tools for success. I expect to finish the BSN by October, nineteen months after starting, and I will have completed 3 master's courses at that time. I advise my colleagues to consider this option when looking into programs for continuing education.

Suzanne Casey of PA 1:53PM August 07, 2011

The average online studentcannot go to regular classes due to their work, disabilty, or military status.Who cares how people learn. Just as long as they learn. There are many ways to catch a fish. I think it's a good thing. Online degree programs provide an educational opportunity to working adults, people with disability, and people serving in the military. Many skeptics tend to forget about the purpose of online education. The purpose is to assist those that cannot make it on campus. Not to lower the standards. In fact, I just read a newspaper article about the higher dropout rate amongst online students. That shows that the accredited schools is not lowering their standards to create online degree options. And no did I not go to school online or in person. I didn't even go college. I am person that can see the true purpose of online learning. Please open your eyes to the world around you and realize that everyone is not in the same situation. It is easy for a healthy non working or serving student from a successful family to go to a brick and mortar school without worrying about keeping a roof over their family head.

Kev of IL 12:40AM July 26, 2011

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