2009 Rankings of Online Colleges and Online Universities

Overall Rankings  -   Methodology  -  Metric Data

Today, there are thousands of online colleges available for higher learning. Like traditional universities, they vary in reputation and academic prestige, but due to their recent rise in popularity, few well-researched comparisons and ratings are available on different schools and programs. Our online college rankings system is designed to remove this veil from online education. We strive to not only help aspiring students make informed decisions when choosing a program, but also for online schools to be held to the same standards as traditional universities. Through examining accreditation statuses, tuition costs, student-to-faculty ratios, graduation and retention rates, and student reviews of the universities, we feel that we have developed an excellent and measurable way to evaluate online institutions in a fair and balanced manner.

Overall Rankings

The table presented below shows the overall rank of every school. The figure in the right hand column is the average ranking. This number was calculated by averaging the score each school earned in our various determining categories.

Methodology

The overall purpose of these rankings is to create a standardized and trustworthy method to rank online institutions based on reliable statistics. These ratings will allow potential students to better judge the schools they are considering attending and make a more educated decision in the end. The following criteria were used to rank the schools:

Accreditation: Regional accreditation is widely considered to be the most selective and prestigious of all accreditation types. It also serves its students better by allowing them to transfer credits between institutions easily. Therefore, schools with this accreditation were ranked higher on our list.

Cost of Tuition and Books: The cost of a higher education is a huge factor for many when deciding on an institution. When compiling our online college rankings, we made sure to weigh heavily a school's overall tuition cost, including books and tech fees.

Student Feedback: Student feedback was strongly weighted when ranking schools. We examined all reviews written for institutions on Guide to Online Schools and adjusted rankings based on how students reported feeling about the individual schools and programs.

Student/Faculty Ratio: Gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics, this metric tells us how available professors will be to help students with their education. 

Graduation and Retention Rates: Graduation and retention rates are an excellent indicator of the overall effectiveness of the institution. An online institute with poor retention and graduation rates clearly shows student dissatisfaction with the school.

The statistics used in the online school rankings were gathered from The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This site is the primary governmental entity for gathering and presenting data related to education.

Metric Data

The following table shows the breakdown of the data for our determining factors. To save space, we abbreviated the names of the columns and the colleges. By clicking on the college name, you will be taken directly to the school's information page to learn more about the institution.

The rest of the abbreviations are explained here— RA: Regional Accreditation, TTC: Total Tuition Cost, # S: Number of Students, # FF: Number of Full-Time Faculty, # PT: Number of Part-Time Faculty Instructors, S/F: Students Per Full-Time Faculty Member, GR: Graduation Rate, RR: Retention Rate.

School	RA	TTC	#S	#FF	#PT	S/F	GR	RR
Abilene Christian University	Yes	$20,080	4,675	222	30	19	57%	74%
Ashford University	Yes	$16,090	10,568	45	703	14	41%	45%
AT Still University	Yes	$40,367	2,880	89	352	7	83%	60%
Boston University	Yes	$37,910	32,053	2,394	1,189	9	82%	91%
Bowling Green State University	Yes	$12,542	20,684	921	329	17	57%	76%
California University of Pennsylvania	Yes	$8,214	8,206	289	99	21	49%	79%
Capella University	Yes	$12,560	21,773	102	5	203	50%	60%
City University	Yes	$14,192	3,566	27	1304	3	50%	60%
Colorado Technical University Online	Yes	$11,536	21,876	5	611	36	50%	60%
Grand Canyon University Online	Yes	$17,710	13,415	52	346	34	46%	69%
Iowa Central College	Yes	$4,450	5,731	76	259	17	30%	58%
Jones International University	Yes	$12,040	1,588	0	110	14	50%	60%
Liberty University Online	Yes	$4,700	38,000	340	485	33	45%	71%
New England College	Yes	$27,322	1,460	56	121	8	45%	66%
Northeastern University	Yes	$34,621	24,434	0	836	29	66%	91%
Norwich University	Yes	$27,064	3,442	122	188	11	48%	77%
Pinnacle Career Institute Online	No	$12,569	525	13	29	13	67%	52%
Saint Leo University	Yes	$18,085	13,788	98	951	13	41%	70%
San Joaquin Valley College Online	Yes	$12,790	436	1	40	11	54%	85%
Strayer University	Yes	$14,595	35,754	159	1699	19	54%	78%
University of Maryland University College	Yes	$13,360	32,540	237	1378	20	50%	58%
University of Phoenix	Yes	$12,340	224,880	0	13,419	17	50%	61%
Walden University	Yes	$16,000	29,455	67	1,026	27	50%	60%
Western Governors University	Yes	$6,770	9,022	154	6	56	37%	78%