SR Education Group

MISENHEIMER — Pfeiffer University was ranked as one of the 2018 Best Online Colleges, as determined by SR Education Group, an education research publisher founded in 2004.

The school ranked eighth out of 18 North Carolina colleges.

These are SR Education’s first online college rankings categorized by state. The organization considered schools in only states with at least five regionally accredited schools offering at least one fully online bachelor’s degree.

Thirty-five states have their own ranking pages, and a total of 446 schools are included on the lists.

The rankings include from five to 25 schools in each state. Schools are ranked based on affordability and academic strength.

Program data including online degrees, certifications, and concentrations was collected from school websites, reflecting data for the 2017-18 school year. In-depth detail on ranked schools, such as the acceptance rate and school accreditation, is also included in the reports.

Cabarrus College of Health Sciences in Concord also ranked high, coming in seventh out of 18.

Of the 50 states, Wyoming has the lowest average annual tuition at $8,840 for its six online colleges. California has the highest number of schools offering online programs at 122, and Texas is a close second with 102.

For states that do not have rankings, complete lists of all online schools are provided in a comprehensive resource. The resource lists 2,631 schools offering distance education programs, organized by state. Students will find complete school listings, annual tuition rates, and locations for each school.

SR Education Group will update the online colleges rankings annually. They were created in hopes of making the college search process more accessible for prospective students who are looking for schools by state.

The organization will continue its research of online colleges throughout this year, and publishing more than 100 program-specific rankings in 2018 to help connect prospective students with schools offering online programs.