Today@Sam Article

Online Programs Get Top Marks In National Rankings For Fourth Year

Jan. 27, 2015
SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Gauntt

Story by: John Holder

US News Banner

Sam Houston State University’s online education programs once again have earned national recognition in U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings, making the magazine’s list of exceptional programs for the fourth straight year.

Among this year’s rankings were No. 5 in “Best Graduate Online Criminal Justice Degree Programs;” No. 7 in the “Graduate Online Information Technology Program;” and SHSU fell within the top 25 percent for “Best Online Bachelor's Degree Programs” and in the top third for the “Best Online MBA Programs.”

The online criminal justice degree program debuted at No. 5 for the first year SHSU was invited to participate in the U.S. News & World Report’s ranking process.

This includes a No. 2 ranking for the CJ program’s “Student Services and Technology area,” while the “Student Engagement” and “Faculty Credentials and Training” dimensions also contributed to the program’s overall top-shelf ranking. Also, the new-student retention rate for this program is 85 percent for the 2013-2014 academic year.

“The No. 5 ranking of the ‘Best Graduate Online Criminal Justice Degree Programs’ is especially rewarding to me, as this is the first program to be put online after my arrival at SHSU Online in 2009,” said Bill Angrove, associate vice president for distance learning. “In helping to develop this program, I was honored to work closely with the former Dean of the College of Criminal Justice, Dr. Vincent Webb, and I am sure he is as thrilled as I am to receive this recognition. It’s also an honor to be recognized by U.S. News and World Report with high rankings for so many additional online degree programs.”

The “Graduate Online Information Technology Program” listing included exceptional scores in “Student Services and Technology,” “Student Engagement,” and “Faculty Credentials and Training.” This program has earned similar high rankings in past years in the U.S. News & World Report listings.

SHSU’s overall rank of No. 7 places the school in the top sixth, or top 16 percent, of all schools included in the ranking report.

SHSU Online’s service plays a key role in the university’s placement regarding U.S. News & World Report's “Student Services and Technology” indicator by providing student support and highly accessible technologies and services and strong support to its students, according to Angrove.

U.S. News & World Report's “Student Engagement” indicator measures the degree to which programs promote quality participation in courses, allow students opportunities to both readily interact with their instructors and fellow classmates similarly to a campus-based setting, and allow students to complete their degrees in a reasonable amount of time.

SHSU offers more than 35 fully online degree programs, including two doctoral programs, as well as 24 online certificate programs. For more information on any of SHSU’s online programs, visit distance.shsu.edu.

A complete listing of the U.S. News and World Report online rankings can be found atusnews.com/education/online-education/sam-houston-state-university-227881.

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