Auburn University's online Master of Education program was recently ranked first in the nation by TheBestSchools.org, a higher education and career resource organization.
School rankings were based on criteria including academic excellence, course offerings and incidental benefits.
Leane Skinner is the special projects coordinator and chair of the distance education and outreach technology committee for the College of education.
She said the personal care given by Auburn's online instructors is what led to such a high ranking.
"Our faculty is very committed to our distance program, and they make sure the distance students get the same experience that the on-campus students get," Skinner said. "They feel like they're part of the Auburn Family. In our college, our faculty really works hard to make sure that the distance students, even though they're not on campus, really can come and feel like a part of the family."
Skinner said the interaction between students and teachers is what sets Auburn's distance education courses apart from other programs.
"There's an emphasis on making certain that our online programs increase the interaction among the faculty, the students on campus and the distance students."
Sue Barry, graduate program officer in curriculum and teaching, echoed skinner's sentiments.\0x2028 "I think that the instructors who are doing this are willing to put in a lot of extra hours to give a lot of personal attention to students who aren't on campus," Barry said. "When you're teaching distance students, it's very different than having students that live in Auburn. They need to be taken care of, and when they want attention, they need it right then."
The college endeavors to make online students feel like they are in an actual classroom by being placed in small classes, which facilitates personal contact between instructors and their students.
Barry said the small class setting also encourages interaction between distance learning and on-campus students.
"We always have on-campus and distance students connected in one class that meets at the same time, whether it's live stream or through connecting through something else," Barry said. "It's like being in class; we're connecting on-campus and off-campus students."
Online distance education programs make it possible for business professionals to pursue a master's degree while also working their current job.
"Some of the people out in the business world decide that they really want to teach," Barry said. "So they want to go back to school, but they don't want to quit their job until they're certified and can find a job in teaching.
"It gives an opportunity to people who are already out working professionally, and they want to either change jobs or move up on the pay scale; therefore, they're able to do that, where they wouldn't be able to if they had to find a school that's close enough to drive to."
Although Auburn's online Master of education program was only recently recognized for its prestige, it came as no surprise for the College of Education faculty. Since the program's inception in 2001, it has made an effort to strive for excellence.
"We've worked at it very hard. We've spent a lot of years, and we have a lot of experience," Barry said. "I think we have a lot of professors that are willing to put in the time to work individually with people when necessary to make sure that things are organized and well-run."
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