UF Online has jumped to the top rankings for online bachelor’s degree programs in its fifth anniversary.
On Tuesday, UF Online ranked fifth out of all online bachelor’s degree programs in the nation in the 2019 U.S. News & World report, said Evangeline Cummings, the UF assistant provost and director of UF Online. Last year, it was ranked No.12.
Pennsylvania State University World Campus and the University of Illinois at Chicago both tied with UF Online for the No. 5 slot, the report said. Florida State University’s online program was No. 102, the University of Central Florida’s online program was No. 14 and the University of North Florida’s was No. 37 overall.
The rankings are based on a combination of factors including student engagement, faculty credentials and expert opinion, the report said. UF’s program earned a score of 95 out of 100 points.
UF Online offers 20 majors, has 481 faculty members and 3,000 students enrolled, Cummings said. The average student is 27.2 years old and is pursuing either a first or second degree.
Tuition is $129 per credit hour for in-state students and $552 per credit hour for out-of-state students, Cummings said. UCF’s online program costs $179 for in-state students and $300 for out-of-state students, according to their tuition website.
Cummings said if prospective students are looking at the rankings for digital bachelor’s programs they could attend, UF Online would certainly be on their radar now.
“To be tied with schools like Penn State World Campus, I think, is a real test to the hard work that has been going on here at the university,” she said. “They’ve been at it for a lot longer than we have.”
UF Online’s program focuses on faculty credentials, virtual campus and student engagement, Cummings said. Nearly all professors who teach UF Online courses have the highest degrees offered in their fields.
Hannah Golden, a 27-year-old UF Online alumna, pursued her second degree in anthropology while based in Austin, Texas, after receiving a bachelor’s degree in bioinformatics from Baylor University. She chose to enroll in UF Online in 2017 due to its low cost and flexibility with her full-time job. She has been working in IT as a systems analyst for Texas Health and Human Services since 2015.
“As somebody who is having to pay for it herself, this online program makes it a whole lot easier to get the education that you need for the things you want to do in life,” she said.
