Online universities receive awards for academic excellence

Online universities receive awards for academic excellence

Online education is one of the fastest growing trends among colleges, as more than 4.6 million students nationwide were enrolled in web-based courses during the 2008 academic year, according to the Babson Survey Research Group. These learners attend hundreds of web-based universities throughout the country.

In order to recognize the best online programs, the Sloan Consortium - an association of institutional leaders that aim to promote online higher education - has awarded schools that have demonstrated excellence in this field, The Triangle reports. The consortium committee gave both Drexel and Boston University's online education systems the rating of "exemplary."

According to Drexel provost Mark Greenberg and the school's eLearning president Arthur Zamkoff, the purpose of the award is to appreciate an institution's outstanding achievement in developing and implementing an online learning curriculum, the news source reports. Web-based schools were chosen based on the quality of their programs, regional availability and the ability to be comparable to the campus-based institution. Also, the university must be able to provide degrees, certificates and continuing education programs to gain recognition from the consortium.

According to a recent Babson report, more than one in four students are enrolled in at least one course online.

By Mark Danson