Online Schools Report provides students with accurate and actionable data on every online college program in the United States. We exist to cut through the jargon and the marketing and help prospective students find the affordable, quality online college education that is right for them.
What We Do and Why
Everyone knows which elite universities will appear at the top of each year’s list of the “Best Colleges and Universities.” College rankings have long focused on traditional schools with ivy-covered brick, freshman dorms, and football teams.
But that doesn’t describe education in the 21st century.
Featured Programs
Students are going online. But college rankings haven’t gone with them. They still focus on things like how good the food in the dining hall is, the endowment size, and the number of faculty members who have won Nobel prizes. These are interesting data points to ponder – but they’re not that helpful for online students trying to find a program that’s right for them.
That’s why we created Online Schools Report. We rebuilt college rankings from the ground up, focused on online students and online programs. For a comprehensive overview of the online college scene, check out our rankings of the best online colleges and the most affordable online colleges.
Want to know more about how we develop our rankings? Read on…
How We Do It
Imagine if actual college students wrote Yelp reviews of their classes – and you could see all of them.
Imagine if you could assess how committed a college is to online classes by seeing how many online degree programs they offer.
Imagine if you could see how much debt students from any and every online college degree program left with.
Imagine no longer. OSR has all of that – and more.
After all, the data is out there – most of it housed at the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. The trick is finding it, and then organizing it all into a map that will give you some direction. That’s what we did.
You can get a full breakdown of the OSR Methodology here, but what follows is an overview of how it works. Every ranking combines a school-wide score and a program-specific score. Here’s what those two scores are composed of:
Renee Whitemore
Renee Whitmore is an Associate Professor of English at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, North Carolina. Before starting at SCC in 2013, she taught English at the middle and high school levels for five years. She currently teaches a combination of traditional seated and online courses, including English Composition, Argument Research, and Creative Writing. Renee earned a Bachelor of Arts in English in 2006 and a Master of Arts in Teaching, with a specialization in English in 2011, both from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
Emma Keegan
Emma is a graduate from the University of Alabama with a degree in education and is currently pursuing a master’s degree at George Washington University for publishing. Having both taught and studied online, she has experience on both sides of online education. Emma is an avid writer who enjoys helping others by writing engaging educational content. When she’s not writing blogs or reading the newest academic studies, you’ll find her spending time with her family and her favorite cat.
Jacob Peterson
Jacob Peterson is a professional writer, editor, and educator with over 10 years of experience. He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a multidisciplinary Bachelor of Science (in Science, Technology, and Culture). He formerly worked in the education industry, where he focused on helping students gain admission to top universities through test prep, advising, and curriculum design. He currently runs Elevation Editing, an on-demand writing and editing company that offers a variety of services, including special help with college application essays.
Toni Noe
Toni Noe is a copywriter, creative, and eternal learner based out of Nashville, TN. She started her full time writing adventure in 2014 after realizing that living a life of nomadic adventure could pair perfectly with her love of writing and sharing her words. When not tapping away at her keys, you can find Toni with her nose buried in a book, chasing outdoor thrills, creating plant based meals, and sharing life with her two furry best friends.
Have a question? Want to get in touch? Shoot our editorial team an email at [email protected].