College of Nursing, College of Education named in the nation’s top 10 largest graduate programs in distance education
Two graduate programs at East Carolina University have been named by U.S. News & World Report in the top 10 in distance education.
The ECU College of Nursing is ranked ninth in nursing programs and the ECU College of Education is ranked tenth in library science programs.
According to U.S. News, it surveyed 649 programs with 549 responses to compile a list of the largest graduate-level programs measured by enrollment in business, education, engineering, library science, nursing and public health. The top programs appear in the Jan. 21 publication and www.usnews.com/elearning.
“This ranking certainly validates the College of Nursing’s commitment to excellence in delivering nursing education in technologically advanced environments,” said Dr. Sylvia Brown, dean of the College of Nursing. “One statistic that is not communicated in this ranking is the quality of education that our online learners receive. Last year our advanced practice nursing options had 100% passage rates on national certification examinations. This is proof that distance education is an effective way to deliver course content, even highly technical material needed by advanced practice nurses.”
Interim dean of the College of Education, Dr. John Swope, said, “The College of Education is pleased that the library science program is ranked among the U.S. News and World Report’s Top 10 distance education programs. The college and its faculty are committed to extending and improving access to the highest quality educational and professional development opportunities. Our library science faculty exemplifies this commitment.”
The College of Nursing was first named to the U.S. News list in 2004. The school offers seven online options in the master’s of science in nursing program: adult nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, family nurse practitioner, neonatal nurse practitioner, nursing education, nursing leadership and nurse midwifery. Of 432 total students enrolled in the MSN program, 371 or 86 percent are distance education students.
The College of Education’s Department of Library Science and Instructional Technology offers three totally online, Internet-based master’s degree programs, including the master of library science, the master of arts in education in instructional technology, and the master of science in instructional technology, and four master’s level certificate programs.