JONES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY RANKED AMONG TOP FIVE ONLINE UNIVERSITIES IN THE WORLD
DENVER, Colo., (June 18, 2010) – For the second year in a row, Jones International University® (JIU®), the first fully online accredited* university, has been ranked among the top five of the best online universities in the world, according to the Global Academy Online 2010 edition of the BEST & WORST IN ONLINE DEGREE PROGRAMS. The ratings were conducted by Professor Fred DiUlus, an online higher education pioneer.
DiUlus, CEO and Founder of Global Academy Online, has rated online colleges since 2002. He began rating them when there were only 20 online institutions in existence and notes the list is growing rapidly. Of JIU’s ranking, he said, “Jones International University’s online program delivery can match or excel beyond any virtual campus that ventures to offer similar degree programs.”
Jones International University has maintained its position
as #2 American school. DiUlus says Jones has a “steadfast concentration on
excelling in its Business and Education Degree Programs.” Because of this, he
states, “They attract high-end professionals that include students who want to
attend and faculty who want to teach at Jones.”
Each school’s rating is based on the online program’s overall quality of content and delivery using a five point rating system that puts significant emphasis on the experience of each institution’s faculty. The 2010 ranking of the Top Ten Online universities in the world:
- University of London
- University of South Africa
- University of Southern Queensland
- The University of Phoenix
- Jones International University
- Griffith University
- University of Liverpool
- Golden Gate University
- Ellis College of NYIT
- University of Maryland University College
The study also found that the current generation of students entering into higher education for the first time are far more comfortable with web 2.0 applications than any of their predecessors and account for the exponential growth in online classes among traditional colleges and universities worldwide. “The hype that a degree from an online university somehow doesn’t measure up to a degree acquired by sitting in a traditional classroom for years, just doesn’t add up,” said DiUlus. The survey results show students who have experienced both traditional and online types of learning rate an online education equal to or better than that of a traditional experience 70% of the time and prefer online learning to the classroom three to one.
DiUlus says he leaves the measurement of a school’s social value, research capabilities, sports programs, student popularity, curb appeal and latest technology advancements to the rating services that measure traditional schools. “Window dressing,” DiUlus states, “is not one of our considerations.”
Jones International University offers a range of certificate, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degree programs taught by an international group of professors.
“To achieve such a high ranking among such respected global institutions is highly gratifying to all of us at Jones International University,” said Terry Rawls, vice chancellor at JIU. “The commitment we have made to provide the highest quality online educational experience has been recognized. In addition, the essential tools and strategies we make available to students have been identified as among the best in the world.”
Additional Findings: Traditional Brick and Mortar Universities Seeing the Light
The study said that almost all the newly rated online degree
providers have offered complete online degree programs for less than five
years. DiUlus said that he sees many of these new entrants in online education
as primarily traditional brick and mortar institutions that have “seen the
light.” He points out that many have
rushed to put programs in place and, as a result, suffer from severe
inadequacies. DiUlus notes that their online faculty, for example, may have
been recruited from a traditional faculty base that is reluctant to teach
online, or worse, they pepper their ranks with unproven new hires that have
never taught either online or in a traditional classroom. The quality,
experience and support of the faculty, he offers, determines what they really
think about online education.
DiUlus’ five-point ratings matrix measures only those institutions he feels are
credible. If an institution is not in his ratings book, he says it is either
too new in the field to be rated, under active consideration, or at worst, too
poor an online provider to be mentioned. The e-book is available free from
Global Academy Online.
*Jones International University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association. The HLC may be contacted at 800.621.7440 or www.ncahigherlearningcommission.org.
About Jones International University®, Ltd. (JIU®)
As the pioneer in online education, Jones International University offers an unparalleled online educational experience that provides essential tools and strategies for career starters, career changers, and career advancers around the globe. It offers an array of online undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees and professional certificate programs in the fields of business administration, education, and business communication and employs some of the greatest minds from many of the world’s leading universities. JIU was the first entirely virtual university in the U.S. to be granted regional accreditation and continues to make its mark as the Gold Standard Online University®. Visit www.jiu.edu.
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