U.S. News & World Report names Saint Leo one of the top providers of online education programs in first annual ranking

Saint Leo, FL (PRWEB) January 30, 2012

Saint Leo University’s online bachelor’s programs have been named among the best in the nation by U.S. News & World Report's first-ever rankings of online higher education. Released January 2012, the rankings reflect the strength of all of Saint Leo's online offerings, including popular majors such as the criminal justice degree online and online degree in business administration.

U.S. News & World Report has published a “Best Colleges” guide for more than 25 years, but this is the first time the publication has evaluated online programs, recognizing that online learning is becoming an integral part of higher education. In 2011, Saint Leo ranked 63rd in U.S. News & World Report’s Regional Universities (South) category.

The oldest Catholic college in Florida, Saint Leo University has been offering online bachelor’s courses since 1998, and this year marks a full decade since the university began offering online MBA programs. Currently, the private liberal arts university has 5,455 students enrolled in its 14 online bachelor’s programs. The most popular online majors at Saint Leo include: online degree in business administration, criminal justice degree online, online accounting degree, computer science degree, and health care administration/management.

Of the 196 online bachelor’s programs U.S. News ranked, Saint Leo University placed competitively in three categories:

1) Faculty Credentials and Training: #11

Between 28 full-time and 151 part-time instructional faculty teaching online courses, the average online teaching experience is eight years. At Saint Leo, 78 percent of faculty have at least two years of online teaching experience—and online instructor training is both required and offered at no cost to instructors.

2) Student Engagement and Assessment: #29

Students interact with professors through email, social media and lively message board discussions. Instructors are expected to respond within 24 hours, and provide academic support during weekly office hours.

3) Student Services and Technology: #112

In addition to 24/7 live tech support, online students enjoy many of the same benefits of their on-campus peers: live tutoring, a live librarian, digitized library materials, career placement assistance and academic advising. Learning comes packaged in video, audio, CD-ROM and textbook formats.

Like most online bachelor’s programs, Saint Leo's are geared toward degree completion online—students with some college credit or applicable work experience who are looking to take that next step toward career and life goals. At Saint Leo University, the average student age is 34, and 14 percent of students are enrolling in college for the first time. Saint Leo's online courses allow students to pursue a degree while balancing work and family obligations, integrating academics into their lives at their own pace. With rolling admissions and six convenient start dates throughout the year, students can enroll at any time in Saint Leo’s online bachelor’s programs.

About Saint Leo University

Saint Leo ranks as one of the top universities in the South, according to U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” list. Saint Leo’s traditional liberal arts campus, located 30 miles north of Tampa, educates more than 1,900 students. Total enrollment across its campus, regional education centers, and online programs exceeds 15,000. Among the oldest Catholic universities in Florida, Saint Leo is one of the nation's 10 leading providers of higher education to the U.S. military, and is a nationally recognized leader in online education.

To learn more about Saint Leo’s criminal justice degree online, visit http://online.saintleo.edu/academics/bachelors-programs/criminal-justice-degree-online.aspx

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Jo-Ann Johnston
Saint Leo University
352.588.8237
Email Information

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Saint Leo Recognized for Online Education Programs: Criminal Justice Degree Online, Business Studies