WESTFIELD- Westfield State University ranked in the top 15 percent of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Online Bachelor’s Programs” list, recognized for its distance learning that provides increased access and flexibility for students. The university was the second highest ranked Massachusetts public university among the six that made the list.
“One of the largest obstacles to obtaining a college education is accessibility,” said Westfield State University Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Marsha Marotta. “Westfield State University is proud to be honored for our strong online degree programs which allow our students to more conveniently complete their education while balancing work, family, and other responsibilities.”
Westfield State has offered online courses since 2002, online degree completion programs since 2008, and currently offers more than 600 online courses throughout the fall, spring, winter, and summer semesters. The university offers online degree completion programs in business management, criminal justice, history, liberal studies, sociology, and psychology. Students also have the option of completing minors online in: art, business management, psychology, and sociology. Westfield State offers a hybrid RN to BSN completion program; and through its the Center for Teacher Education and Research, the university offers online and hybrid professional development courses for teacher licensure for K-12 educators and staff.
Through the MassTransfer and Commonwealth Commitment programs, Westfield State also allows students who have completed an online associate degree from any of the community colleges in the Commonwealth in one of six areas of study to transfer into the university’s online bachelor’s degree completion programs. Through this initiative, students are offered a guaranteed transfer of credits, guaranteed admission (pending space), and a 10 percent rebate of tuition and mandatory fees on program entry.
Westfield State’s online education programs have been recognized before. Since U.S. News & World Report launched its “Best Online Bachelor’s Programs” list in 2012, the university has made the list annually. In 2016, Westfield State ranked four on OnlineColleges.com’s “Best Online Colleges for Criminal Justice” list and was recognized on Collegechoice.net’s 50 Best Online Business Administration Degrees for 2016-2017 rankings.
To complete the rankings list, 311 colleges and universities were evaluated and scored in four different categories: student engagement (40 %) including best practices, graduation, and retention rates; faculty credentials and training (20%); student services and technology (20%) including technological infrastructure and support services; and peer reputation (20%).
