America's Most Reputable and Affordable Online College Programs

More and more students are going online for college due to the ability to live at home, keep working, maintain a flexible schedule, and in many cases, save fistfuls of cash. More and more, traditional brick-and-mortar schools are developing a variety of online degrees and programs. The Huffington Post recently reported that 6.1 million students were studying online in 2010, and the number appears to be rising. But how do these affordable online programs stack up with employers?

The US News and World Report, which has long been the standard for college rankings, has finally developed a similar ranking system for online degrees. The report ranked nearly 200 Bachelor's programs, and over 500 Master's programs with over 80% of the coursework done online, across a variety of fields. Perhaps surprisingly, the top-ranked online programs were all developed by private and public brick-and-mortar institutions.

Top-tier universities are clearly seeing online education as an important part of a sustainable revenue strategy. Pace University and Florida Institute of Technology stood out across multiple categories, from Faculty Credentials and Training, to Student Services and Technology, to Student Engagement and Assessment.

Another useful ranking report, this one about the most affordable online degree programs, was done by toponlinecolleges.org. It ranks schools by cost per credit hour. None of the top-ranked programs from the US News and World Report ranking appeared in the Top Online Colleges ranking. Instead, the top colleges were Liberty University, Ivy Bridge, Capella University, and others demonstrating a mix of traditional programs, all-online not-for-profits, and for-profit institutions.

The market is in a state of transition right now--online colleges can't be ranked by traditional schools' criteria, since most of the students are mid-career or have already pursued some higher education. Employers will look to long-trusted reports like US News', but the criteria for both "top" colleges and most affordable need to evolve to reflect return on investment.

Affordability is not just the up-front cost of a degree. Many students will incur additional, unexpected costs by going to a lesser quality school. Contingencies are everywhere: assistant professors that are spread too thin to answer questions; lack of administrative staff to help with choosing classes or financial aid services assistance, even the realization that the online school you chose is not challenging enough, can all be crippling.

The University of Phoenix, ranks in the top most affordable colleges, with one of the highest enrollment rates. But students report running into clerical and administrative difficulty in registering for classes. In fact, it is ranked among the lowest for attrition--only 16% of students graduate as ranked by the Federal standard. Employers might sneer at a school with such a hit-and-miss reputation.

In a market as competitive as the present one, it's important to balance the idea of affordability in the short term, with the return on investment in the long term. One of the best ways to combine your research of rankings is to explore consumer reports and talk to alumni. Shelling out a couple more fistfuls of cash now might allow you to earn quite a few more in the job market.