2017 - DSC’s online bachelor’s degrees continue among nation’s best

5th year running, DSC keeps pace with prestigious national universities

Local talk show features DSC online rankings

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Jan. 10, 2017) – Despite increasing competition, Daytona State College continues its run among the nation's higher education institutions offering the best online bachelor's degree programs, according to the newest rankings released today by U.S. News & World Report. DSC remains the only Florida state college in the top tier and ranks 15th among more than 300 public and private colleges and universities offering online bachelor's degrees.

In the 2017 Top Online Bachelor's Programs rankings, Daytona State stood with the best through its Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision and Management (BAS), Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology (BSET) and Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) degrees. DSC's ranking came by virtue of a five-way tie with Colorado State University's Global Campus, Fort Hays State University, Washington State University and the Savannah College of Art and Design. DSC was the only member of the Florida College System to place in the rankings.

"Our faculty and staff have been extraordinarily innovative in delivering curricula in the online arena and in making our students career ready," said President Tom LoBasso. "Their success comes from a college-wide commitment to a culture of continuous improvement, one that has seen us evolve our online processes and advance our methodologies to reflect the latest best practices."

The rankings were based on criteria such as the quality and experience of each program's faculty; student engagement, which includes retention and graduation rates; online technology infrastructure and its cost; and student services available online such as mentoring, library services, tutoring, writing workshops, advising, tech support and career placement assistance.

"Our big push since the previous year's ranking was the full implementation of our 24/7 online technical support system," said Andrea Gibson, chair of online studies at DSC. "We also had our instructional designers review all online bachelor's courses in engineering and business, and revamp them where necessary to ensure that they reflect best practices."

Daytona State began offering bachelor's degrees in 2006 in response to a statewide need to increase Florida's college-educated workforce. The college now offers 11 bachelor's programs: the BAS, BSET, BSIT, seven BS in Education degrees and the Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

Over 1,600 baccalaureate students enrolled in DSC online bachelor's degree courses during the 2015-2016 academic year, with more than 13,100 choosing an online course in all one-, two- and four-year programs combined. This fall semester alone, 1,143 students have enrolled in a bachelor's-level online course.

For more information on the rankings, see U.S. News & World Report 2017 Best Online Education Programs rankings. For more information on all Daytona State's online programs, visit DaytonaState.edu/online.

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