Huntington University’s online programs named to U.S. News honor roll
FOR RELEASE: Monday, January 9, 2012
HUNTINGTON, Ind. Huntington University's online bachelor's degree programs were awarded honor roll status in the first-ever edition of Top Online Education Program rankings by U.S.News & World Report. The university's EXCEL Adult Degree Programs administers online bachelor's degree programs in business administration, human resource management, marketing and not-for-profit leadership.
A program made the Top Online Bachelor's Degrees honor roll if it was ranked in the top one third of all three indicators: student engagement and assessment (a student's participation in a class and the professor's reflection of that participation), faculty credentials and training (the level of a professor's education and experience teaching online courses), and student services and technology (availability of online technology and services to students while still providing a "classroom-like" setting).
"We are pleased to receive these rankings from U.S.News & World Report," said Shelly Francka, director of Huntington University's EXCEL program. "Student learning is our top priority in the adult degree programs. As successful, academically-credentialed professionals, our faculty provide the applicability today's adult learners seek. In addition, our technology services staff is aggressive in meeting student and departmental needs. This assertiveness, coupled with faculty and staff commitment, allow us to better serve our students. We are truly blessed to be part of such a dynamic institution and to serve students online and within our community."
The U.S. News rankings were created in response to today's high demand for education provided in a flexible manner. While U.S. News has applied some of its rankings standards used for traditional schools, the organization has developed many new measures that were used to evaluate online programs. To be considered for the rankings, online degree programs needed to have at least 80 percent of their course content available online.
Huntington ranked 84th out of 179 schools nationwide for student services and technology; 116th out of 172 for teaching practices and student engagement; and 51st out of 55 for faculty credentials and training. A total of 194 institutions reported offering online bachelor's degree programs in the U.S. News survey.
Huntington University offers a wide range of courses through the convenience of distance learning. In addition to EXCEL's online bachelor's degree programs, online undergraduate courses are offered to traditional undergraduate students during the summer months. EXCEL also offers an associate degree program in organizational management. The graduate school has master's degree programs in youth ministry leadership and education offered in an online hybrid format. For more information about Huntington's online offerings, visit www.huntington.edu/online.
Earlier this year, Huntington was ranked sixth in the nation for Online Christian Colleges & Universities for 2011. The rankings were compiled by The Best Colleges, a publication that reviews publicly available data and then produces independent ranking assessments of colleges in various disciplines.
For more information on the U.S.News Top Online Education Program rankings, visit www.usnews.com/education/online-education.
