Affordable Colleges Online recently released the Most Affordable Online College Degree Programs ranking, naming the University of West Georgia as 12th nationally. Thousands of colleges were analyzed and the top 54 with the most affordable online programs were ranked.
Dr. Melanie Clay
“What is truly remarkable about our online programs is that they affordable and also exceptionally personal,” says Dr. Melanie Clay, executive director of extended learning and dean of USG eCore. “They are actively taught by highly-credentialed faculty who are passionate about their scholarly areas and student success. Many students remark that they get to know the faculty in our online classes as well as they do those in the traditional classroom. It is truly a win-win for our students.”
UWG offers several online master’s degree programs in a variety of fields including nursing, education, applied computer science, music and business. The university also offers an online Bachelor of Science degree with a major in criminology. The general education curriculum is also offered fully online through the University Systems of Georgia eCore. The eCore program allows USG students the opportunity to complete the first two years of their collegiate careers in an online environment.
Each institution was ranked based on several criteria including net tuition prices, which were provided by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and the National Center for Education Statistics. The college must also be a fully accredited 4-year not-for-profit institution, information provided by the Carnegie Foundation, and its graduates must earn an average starting salary of more than $31,000 to qualify, cited from Payscale. Additionally, the institution must have at least one online or distance learning degree program during the 2012-2013 school year.
The AC Online website states that the “list of 54 affordable online colleges comprises some of the premier universities in the country, specializing in online education as a medium to deliver relevant coursework.” In February 2013, U.S. News & World Report ranked the university sixth in the nation for the “Best Online Graduate Computer Information Technology Programs.” The Princeton Review also cited UWG as “one of the best overall bargains – based on cost and financial aid.”
The full AC Online rankings list is available at www.affordablecollegesonline.org/online-colleges/. For more information on the University of West Georgia’s online programs, please visit uwgonline.westga.edu.
