University of Nebraska online programs featured in new U.S. News rankings

University of Nebraska online programs continue to rank among the best in U.S. News & World Report’s new lists of the country’s leading online degrees.

NU programs featured in the U.S. News rankings, which were issued today, are:

• The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s online graduate education programs, No. 5 (second among Big Ten institutions)
• UNL’s online Master of Business Administration, No. 21 (third in the Big Ten)
• The University of Nebraska at Kearney’s online graduate education programs, No. 23
• UNL’s online master of engineering management degree, No. 34
• UNL’s online bachelor of science in applied science, No. 40
• The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s online bachelor’s degree in general studies, No. 58

All of the ranked NU programs are available through the University of Nebraska Online Worldwide website. U.S. News evaluated more than 1,200 distance education programs across the country and ranked them based on factors such as faculty credentials, student services, student engagement and admissions selectivity. With its rankings, the magazine aims to help prospective students – particularly adult learners who are already in the workforce but want to obtain additional credentials to advance their careers – find high-quality online programs.

Mary Niemiec, associate vice president for distance education and director of the University of Nebraska Online Worldwide, noted that quality and flexibility are especially critical given that 290,000 Nebraskans have completed some college but not earned a degree. Ensuring access to online education is a key strategy for helping those Nebraskans complete their degrees and providing a skilled workforce to meet the state’s needs, Niemiec said.

“The fact that all of our undergraduate campuses offer nationally ranked online programs is a testament to the commitment of our faculty and the quality of the courses they have developed,” Niemiec said. “I’m very proud that the University of Nebraska’s online degrees continue to be ranked among the best in the nation. More importantly, through the University of Nebraska Online Worldwide, we are expanding access to more students in our state and around the world so they have the opportunity to pursue an education no matter where they are.”

The University of Nebraska Online Worldwide is NU’s university-wide distance education initiative, providing access to more than 100 online and blended degree, certificate and endorsement programs in 16 fields of study, offered by the four campuses of the university. The university has made it a primary goal to continue expanding its online programs in order to meet the needs of students and help build a skilled workforce for Nebraska.

The number of academic credit hours produced by distance-only students grew 10 percent in 2013-14, to almost 67,000, and more than two-thirds of those were earned by Nebraska students. Headcount enrollment of distance-only students also grew 16 percent, to 7,600, with each campus seeing growth.

Total online credit hour production grew 26 percent in 2013-14, to nearly 174,000. About half of University of Nebraska students now take at least one course online.