USM online learning gets No. 1 rank for affordability
The University of Southern Mississippi has been named No. 1 in the nation for affordability of its online offerings. Affordable Colleges Online ranked Southern Miss as the most affordable online college in the U.S.
"It's really important," said Tom Hutchinson, interim director of the Office of Online Learning. "We've been ranked before, but for us to be No. 1 is a new thing. It highlights all the hard work the university has been doing to further online learning.
"It's a nice trophy. We're pretty excited about it."
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Affordable Colleges Online includes researchers and higher education experts who analyze data from every college and university in the country to identify those with the lowest out-of-pocket costs that also score high on academic rigor and student support. The ranking includes student-to-faculty ratio, graduation rates and number and breadth of online programs available.
"We do have strong academic programs with an affordable price tag and it's great to see national recognition for that," said Amy Miller, vice provost for academic affairs. "My understanding is this was also about academic quality. It was about what we offer and how affordable it is."
The university offers 11 undergraduate, 22 graduate and eight certificate programs through online learning courses.
It began offering extra support to online students in July when it opened the Office of Online Learning.
"My team and I moved online learning from the Learning Enrichment Center to the Office of Online Learning because online learning was growing so much at Southern Miss," Hutchinson said. "More resources got put into the office. There was a real effort to push online learning."
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Online students at Southern Miss have doubled in one year, increasing from about 600 enrolled solely in online courses in fall 2015 to 1,200 for fall 2016.
"Obviously, our student support services went up," Hutchinson said. "We're piloting things such as online tutoring. There's a lot more energy. Just the name change (to Office of Online Learning) makes it easier for students to reach out. The name isn't buried in another department."
Hutchinson hopes to see online students and offerings continue to grow at the university.
"Last year, if I'm not mistaken, we were No. 1 in the state as best online school, so this year to be most affordable online school in the nation is a big step," he said. "It's always good to move up."
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Office of Online Learning: www.usm.edu/online-learning
Online courses: www.online.usm.edu