Both the University of Massachusetts nursing and business administration online graduate programs have been ranked among the top 25 programs of their type by U.S. News & World Report, according to a news release.
The online master’s program in nursing is ranked 12th, and the MBA program from Isenberg School of Management is ranked 22nd, according to the release. The School of Education’s online master’s in education also was ranked at 59th.
The nursing program was ranked based off responses to a questionnaire sent out at the end of summer 2012 to 101 institutions offering a master’s degree in nursing, according to U.S. News.
Based on responses to the survey, U.S. News calculated a ranking for each school based on several factors including graduation rate, GPA scores, time required to complete the degree and student debt carried after completing the program.
UMass graduate nursing program’s overall score was 70.1 out of 100. It had 31 students during the 2011-12 academic year, according to the press release, and had 10 full-time and six part-time faculty members teaching its courses.
The MBA program’s overall score was a 60.9. The program had more than 925 students last year, according to the release, and had 12 full-time and 22 part-time faculty members teaching courses.
Several factors were used for the MBA program ranking system, according to the press release. But the system ranked among 213 schools and gave more weight to the peer reputation of the program.
The school of education’s online program is known as Science Education Online (SEO), according to the press release. More than 200 online education programs were assessed by U.S. News based on some of the same factors as the nursing and MBA programs. Particular attention was paid to student engagement in the programs, faculty training and credentials and student services and technology, the release said.
Selectivity of admissions at each of the programs was factored into all of the rankings for online master’s degree programs.
Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., has the top master’s degree program available for nursing in the country, according to the press release. The top MBA program is available at Washington State University’s in Pullman, Wash.
Patrick Hoff can be reached at [email protected].
