Category: Technology Programs
Find the Best Online University for You
Search our online university rankings and ratings below in order to select the best online university for your needs, then use the links to request a free information packet from that school:
Online University Rankings 2008
UPDATED 2009 Rankings:
Below you will find the top 10 online universities for 2009. Students interested in a particular school can request free information directly from the online university by clicking on the ‘More Info’ links:
Kaplan is nation’s overall top ranked online university, with the highest number of #1 ranked associates, bachelors, and masters degree programs.
The most recognized online university, Phoenix offers highly ranked accredited online degrees for almost every career goal.
The Christian college with the highest online university ranking, Liberty combines Christian values and a strong academic reputation to achieve a consistent top 10 online university ranking.
The most prestigious online university due to its post-graduation employment statistics, AIU is a top choice for students looking for career advancement.
Capella’s national reputation in the job market for producing talented students, gives it a consistent top 5 online university ranking.
The nation’s first online university, Devry maintains a top online university ranking, especially for students interested in taking dual online and campus classes.
Westwood’s top 5 rated associates and bachelors programs bring it within the top 10 overall online university rankings. Excellent choice for online associates or bachelors degrees.
ITT is the best ranked online university for most technicians programs. ITT offers both online only or blended online / campus degrees in a wide array of technician degrees and programs.
The fastest growing online Christian university, GCU offers the best online interface and top masters degrees programs particularly in education and criminal justice.
One of the best online universities for working adults looking for affordability. Baker offers many scholarships and financial aid working students.
Search Online Degrees
In the past few years, one mode of education that has surprised everyone with high growth potential is online higher education. There is little doubt that it growing in full flow, but lack of transparency has prevented online higher education from reaching the zenith of its growth. The Online University Rankings 2007 produced by OEDb, a database of accredited online education programs shows how some of the most important degree-granting undergraduate online colleges and universities perform nationally and internationally. Smaller schools such as the Chamberlain College of Nursing and California Coast University were not included.
According to OEDb, they gathered data on eight different criteria that include acceptance rate, financial aid, graduation rate, retention rate, scholarly citations, and years accredited. The data is shown in a table that has the overall ranking for each college. Not surprisingly, Grand Canyon University secured the top spot in the ranking followed by Florida Metropolitan University. I am a bit surprised to see University of Phoenix at 15th spot. However, since the ranking is based on different metrics, there should not be any dispute. Read the complete article to know more about the universities that are listed in the rankings.
The Most Happening Colleges – Wire-Wise
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
Here’s one situation where a relative unknown has come out on top of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Villanova University has grabbed the top spot on the list of “Most Wired Colleges” in the United States. The list, compiled by PC Magazine and The Princeton Review, was based on the extent technology is used in educational institutes for online learning, faculty computer training, and other programs.
Villanova emerged a winner because of its policies that allot freshers laptops that are replaced in their second year, provide PDAs for nursing students and tablet PCs for engineering classes. Classes, lectures and exams are available online, and technical support questions are answered within 24 hours.
MIT came in a close second, thanks to its own operating system and its open courseware, while the Indiana University took third place for a podium finish by virtue of owning the fastest university-based supercomputer and the largest disk-based storage facility. Others in the top ten as reported by E School News include:
Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, Creighton University in Nebraska, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Michigan Technological University, the University of Southern California, Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, and the University of Oklahoma.
New Online Courses from Kilgore College
New online career training courses are on the anvil from Kilgore College. The courses will be in the areas of healthcare, business, construction/automotive technology Internet, design and technical and networking and Comp TIA certification. Kilgore College has partnered with Gatlin Education Services for bringing out these courses. The courses being planned are as an answer to the growing demand for online education the world over.
These courses are so designed so as to enable individuals to enhance their education and area specific knowledge at any time of their careers. Even the first time career seekers can easily benefit from the programs on offer. All that one has to do is have some time and a PC and a lot of enthusiasm. News Wire Today reports:
Web-based instruction is growing in popularity. Gatlin’s enrollments with their partner institutions have increased by 100 percent in the last year. The company has strategic partnerships with more than 480 institutions of higher learning worldwide.
Wimba Streamlines Podcast Delivery
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
Technology innovators are targeting the growing online education market, as seen from the recent developments at Horizon Wimba. With the emergence of podcasts as a powerful tool in the dissemination of lectures to online students, the applications vendor for the online education sector done well to bring out version 5.1 of its Wimba Voice Tools.
The latest edition of the application integrates the Wimba Podcaster which allows students to subscribe to podcasts that instructors add as audio files to their online lectures. Updates to the voice files will be automatically streamed to the students’ mp3 player, eliminating the need to login each time and check for updates. The new import feature allows even audio files that are recorded outside the Wimba Voice Tools environment to be distributed as podcasts.
Wimba says that the Voice Presentation Tool is a godsend for instructors who need to create online presentations with voice and visual support. The Voice Board in the new version allows users to sort and reorder their messages.
Duke, Elluminate Tie Up
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
Technology and online education complement each other, and when the combination is harnessed to its full potential, the rewards are manifold. Which is why the Duke University has chosen Elluminate Live Academic EditionT from Elluminate Inc. to augment and improve its online offerings. According to Ben Rogers, project manager for Duke’s Digital Media Solutions group, the Elluminate system offers a one-stop solution for the institution’s distance education, collaboration, and outreach activity needs. The choice was made after sifting through hundreds of applications, and running trials of four chosen products. ESchool News reports:
“At Elluminate, we are committed to providing innovative technology that facilitates teaching, learning and collaboration across the campus or around the world. We look forward to collaborating with Duke to enhance our live eLearning solutions to further meet the changing needs of the university, as well as those of higher education in general,” said Maurice Heiblum, president of Elluminate USA Inc.
Video Conferencing Facilitates Online Education
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
The Indiana University is furthering the cause of online education with the new and innovative two-way videoconferencing technology across all its 8 campuses. Implemented at a cost of $3,000 to $13,000 for each station, the university has a total of 250 to support its initiative in extending an education to students unable to attend daily lessons on campus.
The system adds life to the text-only or text/voice scenarios usually seen in distance and online education. Teleconferences at Bloomington and IU-Purdue University Indianapolis use the two-way videoconferencing technology to enable those with full-time jobs to earn a degree from IU. Professors at the university are also harnessing the system to teach unusual classes and courses at institutions where they are not available. ISD News reports:
“The cost isn’t very great because we are running it using the Internet,” said Bryan McCormick, associate professor in the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, who uses videoconferencing for one of the graduate classes he teaches. “By using the Internet, we can connect to pretty much anyone who has that capability.”
Leveraging Technology for Online Education
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
ACCESS, a program that enables students to earn credits in courses that are not offered at their schools through online education, will leverage interactive education technology from DyKnow to improve its offerings. The Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators & Students Statewide (ACCESS) program, which provides high school students access to advanced level courses and electives that are not available in their district, will use the DyKnow software solution at 44 schools in the state initially. The solution will be rolled out all across the state in the future to make a distance learning laboratory a reality in all public schools in Alabama. ESchool News reports:
The Alabama State Department of Education has purchased licenses of DyKnow Vision and DyKnow Monitor for use in virtual classrooms throughout the state. These classrooms, which are currently equipped with Interactive Video Conferencing and Tablet PCs, will use DyKnow software to enable teachers to instantly transmit content to student computers for annotation and review. Students’ personalized notes can then be saved and replayed at a later date. Teachers will also be able to see a bird’s-eye view of student computers during class and block distracting applications, even at a distance.
Yale Offers Lectures Online
– By Pushpa Sathish, Staff Writer
“Here is a piece of bark, talk about it,” “At what point is a person actually dead?,” “Put a monetary value on this teapot,” “What percentage of the world’s water is contained in a cow?” – if you are able to answer the above questions to the satisfaction of examiners at Oxford and Cambridge, you’re fit to enter the portals of these hallowed institutions.
I can almost hear what most of you are thinking – with such eccentric questions, it’s no wonder we have a tough time getting admitted here. While getting in to such prestigious institutions is a tough call, gaining access to their resources is not so anymore.
The Yale University is making it possible for all users of the Web to experience its classroom atmosphere and virtually attend the lectures through the Open Educational Video Lecture Project. The digital video format used gives viewers a simulated feeling of actually being in the classroom during the discourse.
Yale is not the only institution providing such service for online students; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is also allowing access to its learning materials through OpenCourseWare. Though the program is limited to course materials such as syllabus details, PowerPoint presentations, and problem sets, for students who learn from home, this is a virtual treasure trove.
Yale’s project is budgeted at $755,000 for a pilot period of 18 months. The first videos will go online in the fall of 2007.
Students in Greece can now study online at the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is now offering computer science certificate programs, online CS courses, and the online Master of Computer Science degree to students located in Greece. The university recently signed an agreement with INTEGRAS which will help it to market its online courses. The university attracts students from around the globe.
True to its reputation of being a world-class and world famous university, University of Illinois signed an agreement with Samsung SDS Co., Ltd. of Seoul, Korea last year in April. This agreement was signed to provide online graduate courses through the university’s Department of Computer Science to the employees of Samsung. Though the current number of Samsung employees registered with the university is only 10, it is expected to grow in the fall 2006 and subsequent semesters.
Mehdi Harandi, associate head and director of online programs for the computer science department, attributes the success of his online department to the fact that quality of education that the online students receive is the same as that received on-campus.