By Logan Jones
Student Reporter
Northwestern now has one more academic accolade to add to its many accomplishments. In a recent ranking by the SR Education Group, Northwestern Oklahoma State University has been deemed the second-best online college in the state of Oklahoma.
“Anytime you are recognized by a group or peers for the work that you are doing, I think that’s exciting,” Steven Valencia said, the associate vice president for university relations. “Certainly being ranked number two on online classes in the state of Oklahoma is a real plus for us.”
Bested only by Southwestern Oklahoma State, NWOSU placed higher than the likes of Oral Roberts University, the University of Oklahoma at Norman and Oklahoma State University.
The SR Education Group based their rankings on certain criteria such as cost of tuition, the number of online degrees offered and the academic strengths of each school. That information is entered into the group’s internal algorithm which ranks the schools.
Northwestern is no stranger to the online classroom. “We have had online courses for a number of years,” Valencia said. Most recently, NWOSU added the online Doctor of Nursing Practice Doctorial degree, which has strengthened the school’s academic offerings, according to Valencia.
Both online instructors and students have nothing but praise for the school’s online courses. Senior Psychology major, Greg Carrington, said all the online classes he took were just as good as taking a class with a physical instructor.
“It’s a good way to add extra credit hours during the day,” he said. “If you can learn that way, I would definitely recommend it.”
Online math instructor, Dr. Tim Maharry, said some students do appreciate having the flexibility of an online course, particularly those who juggle multiple tasks such as children and working a job.
The future of Northwester’s online classroom is quickly changing. Currently, a majority of the general education classes offered are online. Northwestern still wants what is best for the students’ education.
“Northwestern is always looking for more online courses to offer,” Maharry said. “We want the students to have the flexibility of an online course, but we don’t want to sacrifice any of the academic rigor that comes with a physical class.”
While being recognized for its stellar online program, NWOSU expects to meet the overall needs of its students.
“Rankings are nice but the ultimate mission of all of our programs is to make sure that we provide students with the best training and education possible so that they can go out and be successful,” Valencia said. “If our graduates can be successful, then that’s the best validation that we can hope for.”