Online College Rankings

2010 Ranking of Online Colleges

We reviewed the top online colleges in the U.S. and according to the U.S. Department of Education – Institute of Education Sciences, we came up with a scoring system that attempts to measure student satisfaction in the form of graduation and retention rates. In order to calculate the results we considered the number of students, the graduation rates, the number of online degree programs, and the school's retention rates. Combining these together we were able to derive a total student satisfaction score in light of the online degree offerings of each online school.

Featured School: Kaplan University

The full results of the study follow:

Rank	School	Score
1	Walden University	121.0
2	Kaplan University	89.7
3	Liberty University	87.5
4	Drexel University	71.0
5	Strayer University	56.3
6	Grand Canyon University	43.5
7	Western Governors University	33.8
8	Capella University	32.8
9	Benedictine University	30.1
10	Rasmussen College	29.8
11	American Intercontinental University	27.6
12	Saint Leo University	26.6
13	Columbia Southern University	25.6
14	DeVry University	24.7
15	Colorado Technical University	24.1
16	Regent University	23.8
17	Full Sail University	17.7
18	Westwood College	17.1
19	Upper Iowa University	16.7
20	Eastern Kentucky University	12.2
21	LeTourneau University	9.9
22	Chancellor University	8.1
23	Virginia College	7.8
24	Indiana State	5.9

In order to further illustrate the methodology used, it makes sense to me to use Walden University's data. Walden University has a 21% graduation rate and a 47% student retention rate (the percentage of students that come back each year to continue their degree program). In addition they have over 240 online degree programs! That, coupled with over 35,000 students gives them the top adjusted score (student population adjusted by the graduation rate plus the number of programs adjusted by the retention rate). In direct contrast, there are several schools that have very low graduation and retention rates (single-digit graduation rates). We do our best to avoid representing the colleges and universities at the bottom end of the student satisfaction spectrum here at Best Colleges Online (everyone listed above has a higher adjusted graduation rate, just lower number of programs and retention rates).

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us at blog@bestcollegesonline.net. This ranking methodology is completely independent and objective rather than subjective. We hope that the schools can appreciate and respect this and that they will look to the information that is freely made available by the U.S. Department of Education with any questions or concerns they may have with their ranking or lack thereof.

We intend to revisit the online rankings each year and will keep a history of how the various online colleges fair from year-to-year to indicate whether their student satisfaction based scores go up or down over time.

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