Iowa's Online College Programs Ranked: See Which Schools Made Top 10

DES MOINES, IA — When getting a college degree is a goal, but life makes it impractical to spend all day on a campus — or afford the cost — many students opt to go online. A group that studies online education ranked Iowa's higher ed programs based on affordability, student services and availability of online programs.

The list of best accredited online colleges in the U.S., as determined by onlinecolleges.com, is built into an interactive Top Online Colleges Tool. Top programs also are available by state.

In the ranking for the top colleges for online programs in Iowa, the University of Iowa earned the No. 1 spot, beating 43 other accredited colleges and universities in the state. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics, schools were scored on a 10-point scale against 14 metrics .

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Here are the top 10 accredited colleges and universities that stood out in the statewide study:

1. University of Iowa
2. Iowa State University
3. Northwest Iowa Community College
4. University of Northern Iowa
5. Kaplan University, Davenport Campus
6. Buena Vista University
7. North Iowa Area Community College
8. Briar Cliff University
9. Southwestern Community College
10. Graceland University

The website used the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System to generate a list of colleges and universities that met the following criteria:

• Level of institution is either “four or more years” or “at least 2 but less than 4 years”
• At least 1 percent of students are taking at least some classes via distance education
• Data reported for 14 ranking variables, including graduation rate, retention rate, career/academic counseling available, job placement programs, as well as credit for life experience, military training or Advanced Placement courses.

Onlinecolleges.com is a source for online learning that offers information based on states, programs and careers. Rankings are based on a specific methodology, and the data for these rankings is acquired from trusted sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau. The website also features sections such as financial aid options, grants and loans and college accreditation to help students choose courses and universities wisely.

Image by onlinecolleges.com