College of Education’s online programs ranked by U.S. News & World Report

January 11, 2017

U.S. News and World Report released their 2017 rankings of best online programs among colleges and universities across the country this week.

Georgia Southern University’s online graduate education programs are positioned near the top third of all schools participating in the survey, outranking state institutions including University of West Georgia, Valdosta State University, Columbus State University, and Armstrong State University.

Rankings are based on five general categories including student engagement, student services and technology, admissions selectivity, faculty credentials and training, and peer reputation.

While marks for the College’s faculty credentials and training are on par with the top 10 percent of the schools ranked, Georgia Southern’s positioning in the rankings is reflective of admission policy that makes programs more accessible.

“The intent of our online education graduate degrees at Georgia Southern is to provide all educational professionals wishing to improve their understanding of educational theory and practice with the access to high quality, online master’s of education programs,” said Thomas Koballa, Ph.D., dean of the College of Education. “Two of the College’s largest online programs are University System of Georgia collaboratives which explicitly have accessibility for Georgia teachers as their mission.”

Education graduate degrees offered by Georgia Southern help graduate students to build knowledge of pedagogical theory and techniques, gain leadership skills, and develop new research-based approaches for supporting student success. The College offers over 20 graduate degree options including master’s, specialist’s, and hybrid (combination of online and face-to-face coursework) doctoral degrees.

In line with the College’s desire to provide accessible, high quality advanced degree options, three new fully-online graduate degrees are being offered starting Fall 2017 including: M.A.T. in Early Childhood Education; M.Ed. in Teaching Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students; and a M.Ed. in Evaluation, Assessment, Research, and Learning.

“The three new master’s degree programs address market needs,” said Tracy Linderholm, Ph.D., associate dean of graduate education and research for the College of Education. “We have addressed the need for advanced training in teaching diverse students in south Georgia, preparing early childhood educators, and preparing people for data-driven jobs that require program evaluations, data analysis and assessment.”

For more information about the College of Education’s graduate degrees, visit: https://coe.georgiasouthern.edu/