RENO --  The College of Education and the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno had their online graduate programs recognized last week in U.S. News & World Report’s “2013 Best Online Education Programs.” 

The College of Education’s online graduate programs, two of which are offered in partnership with the University’s Extended Studies, were ranked number 52 in the “Best Online Graduate Education Programs” category. These programs include the Master of Science in Equity and Diversity in Education, Master of Education in Literacy Studies, Master of Science in Information Technology in Education, and Master of Education in Educational Psychology. The College of Business’ Executive MBA, also offered in partnership with Extended Studies, was ranked number 55 in the “Best Online Graduate Business Programs” category. 

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 admissions selectivity. The business category also considered peer reputation. Both the University’s Executive MBA and education master’s programs received particularly high marks for their student services and technology, ranking 33 and 32 in this category, respectively. 

The College of Education’s master’s 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. 

“The College is pleased to receive this recognition for our online programs,” said Chris Cheney, dean of the College. “We have developed these programs, as well as other online courses and sequences, 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 that teach the College’s part-time MBA program, which is ranked number four in the country by Bloomberg BusinessWeek. 

“Word of the program has spread quickly,” said Kambiz Raffiee, the program’s director and associate dean of the college. “We admitted our first cohort in fall 2011 and now have 29 professionals from six states, Australia and Dubai admitted into the program this year as the second cohort.” 

According to Fred Holman, vice provost of Extended Studies at the University, “Graduate education is one of the niches we really have for online programing, given the bench strength we have among faculty. The retention rate is very good. The professionals already in the field value the degrees they are getting and are using the online program option so they can still manage their days and their careers.” 

A few months ago, the same three programs were also named “Best Buys” by GetEducated.com, a consumer group dedicated to assisting students in comparing and rating accredited online degree programs, colleges and universities. 

For more information on the online Executive MBA Program, contact Raffiee at 775-682-9142 or raffiee@unr.edu. For more information on the master’s programs in education, contact the College of Education at 775-784-4345 or cheney@unr.edu.