Jessica Fisher, Staff Writer
Kennesaw State University has ranked amongst the best online colleges in the nation.
Ranked 17th on a list of 83 universities, Kennesaw State is joined by three other Georgia universities: Georgia Southern University (53rd), theUniversity of Georgia (59th), and the Georgia Institute of Technology (61st).
According to a press release published on the KSU website, eligibility for the Affordable College Foundation ranking requires that universities offer at least one bachelor’s degree completely online.
Elke Leeds, assistant vice president for Technology Enhanced Learning and director of the Distance Learning Center at Kennesaw State was enthusiastic about the news.
“It is wonderful to see Kennesaw State rise in these rankings on a national level,” he said. We have had great success in expanding our high-quality programs to the online learning environment, and this ranking showcases how well we serve our students in a digital world.”
According to the press release, schools offering fully online degree programs have nearly doubled over the past 10 years. Online enrollment makes up an increasing proportion – nearly 50 percent – of all the enrollments in higher education.
KSU offers 42 online degrees, endorsements, certificates, and academic minor programs. All are part of the university’s Distance Learning Center and range from disciplines such as business, to education and nursing.
Of KSU’s 22,621 students, 7,000 of them take online courses each semester. According to the university’s press release, “… with many students earning their bachelor’s and master’s degrees without setting foot on campus.”
In 2014, the university launched its first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in the field of education technology. This served more than 10,000 students. A second MOOC in information security is expected to launch this year.
