The University of Nevada, Reno’s College of Business and the College of Education received recognition this week from U.S. News & World Report as offering some of the top online graduate programs in the country. The top 100 schools were ranked by the publication.
The College of Business’s online graduate program, offered in partnership with Extended Studies, was ranked No. 75 in the “Best Online Graduate Business Programs” category. The College of Education’s online graduate program, also offered in partnership with Extended Studies, was ranked No. 36 in the “Best Online Graduate Education Programs” category, up from last year’s ranking of 52. These programs include the Master of Science in Equity and Diversity in Education and Master of Education in Literacy Studies.
In each of these categories, about 1,000 regionally accredited institutions were sent statistical questionnaires, and certain other conditions and definitions had to be met to be included in the final ranking. In both categories, criteria used to determine the final ranking included student engagement, student services and technology, faculty credentials and training, and peer reputation. Both the University’s Executive MBA and Education Master’s programs received particularly high marks for faculty credentialing and training, which is defined as how well the schools prepare teachers to teach remotely, ranking 78 and 77, out of 100, in this category, respectively.
The College of Education’s master’s degree programs are accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation Teacher Education, considered the top accreditation for educator preparation. The degrees help fill a need in areas of education in high demand in today’s challenging classroom environment.
“Building an online program in collaboration with the Extended Studies department has permitted literacy research faculty at the University to focus on providing content and teaching methodologies to students online within strong technical assistance and a student support structure,” Julie Pennington, College of Education associate professor, said. “The online format has allowed students to experience a variety of modes of instruction such as interactive real-time video and audio conferencing, research web use, online discussion formats, integrated student created video presentations of their own application and evaluation of course research in their classrooms.”
“We are proud of the quality of the programs the faculty has put together,” Ken Coll, dean of the College of Education, said. “They are clearly developed so that educators can engage in deep study in the latest research and promising practices, while working in a manner that makes sense for busy professionals.”
The College of Business’ Executive MBA Program meets the accreditation standards of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the highest attainable level of accreditation in business education. It is taught by the same faculty who teach the college’s Part-time MBA Program, which is ranked No. 24 in the country by Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
“We are incredibly proud of the MBA programs we have built in the College of Business,” Kambiz Raffiee, the program’s director and associate dean of the College of Business, said. “This recognition of our online EMBA really makes a statement about the quality of our faculty and how hard they work to make this program one that sets the standard for others in the country.”
For more information on the online Executive MBA Program and the master’s programs in education, visit
www.unr.edu.
