ODU Online Programs Ranked in Top 25 Nationally by Affordable Colleges Online

Old Dominion University's online programs have been ranked 23rd in the nation by the national nonprofit website AffordableCollegesOnline (ACO) in a combined metric of affordability and quality of education offered.

The ranking of the "30 Highest Rated and Most Affordable Online Colleges in the U.S." was released April 1 by ACO. ODU is the only public school from Virginia listed.

"Per credit costs demonstrate that Old Dominion is a good choice when it comes to a quality education for less, with undergraduate distance learners paying as low as $285, and postgraduate students $412, per course credit," the ACO rankings state.

The website highlights ODU's "extensive" list of online options, including bachelor's degrees in medical technology, computer science and psychology, and master's degrees in business administration, public administration and sport management. "A Ph.D. in English is also entirely web-based, as are certificates in global health and cyber security," ACO says.

The website also notes that OnlineU rated ODU's distance learning master's in counseling program as the 13th most affordable online counseling degree in the United States, and U.S. News & World Report ranked ODU's online graduate nursing program among the country's top 25 as well.

For the rankings, AffordableCollegesOnline was looking for two things that it said need not be mutually exclusive in a quality education - quality education and affordable prices. Ranking authors said the list was quite difficult to assemble because two completely different criteria were being factored together.

"However, that's what we endeavored to do - make sure that each college has received significant recognition for both a) the quality of its teaching programs and b) how reasonably priced it is," they said on the website.

Before producing the final ranking, other accolades were considered by ACO, including recognition from publications and praise from students, as well as the cost of education at each school.

A total of 875 schools nationwide were assessed in the compilation of the final rankings. See the full list of schools HERE.

AffordableCollegesOnline is a nonprofit advocacy research organization with a goal of finding ways for students and their parents to manage college costs.

This article originally appeared in InsideODU on April 14, 2014.