Valdosta State University has been recognized on a national level for offering an exceptional online education.
 
“Online programs and courses are an area of consistent growth for VSU,” said Meg H. Giddings, director of VSU’s Office of Extended Learning. “Our programs integrate the flexibility of online programs with exceptional and student-focused faculty and support. From the post-traditional student who balances a job, children, and a spouse and is looking for fully online learning opportunities to the on-campus student customizing their student experience by integrating online and in-seat courses in a term, online programs and courses are making a customized learning opportunity a reality for many VSU students. Ultimately our graduates earn a degree from a traditional institution that they know and trust.”
 
To determine its rankings, the SR Education Group’s Guide to Online Schools analyzed data from hundreds of institutions of higher education across the nation offering a multitude of fully online degrees, with at least one of those degrees at the bachelor’s or master’s level. Its goal was to determine which colleges and universities offer the most notable balances of academic rigor and affordability for online learning.
 
A total of 25 colleges and universities made the final cut for the SR Education Group’s Guide to Online Schools 2017 Top Online Colleges for Value rankings. VSU came in at No. 24 overall and also received accolades for being among the 2017 Top Online Colleges Offering Master’s Degrees (No. 10 out of 25) and the 2017 Top Online Colleges Offering Doctoral Degrees (No. 4 out of 25).
 
VSU offers more than 50 bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees; endorsements; certificates; minors; and more online.
 
Undergraduate students can pursue a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice, office administration and technology, organizational leadership, or psychology; a Bachelor of Arts in French language and literature, legal assistant studies, or Spanish language and literature; a Bachelor of Applied Science in human capital performance; a Bachelor of Business Administration in management; and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in emergent media and communication.
 
Graduate students can pursue a Master of Education in adult and career education, curriculum and instruction in accomplished teaching, early childhood education, education leadership, health and physical education, instructional technology and training, instructional technology, or middle grades math and science; a Master of Science in criminal justice; a Master of Arts in Teaching in special education deaf and hard of hearing education, special education adapted curriculum, or special education general curriculum; a Master of Arts in English studies for language arts teachers; a Master of Business Administration in healthcare administration or through the Georgia WebMBA initiative; a Master of Library and Information Science; a Master of Public Administration or Doctor of Public Administration; an Education Specialist in coaching pedagogy in physical education, educational leadership, instructional technology, school counseling, special education, or teacher leadership; and a Doctor of Education in leadership or curriculum and instruction.
 
Students have opportunities to enhance their education and training through the pursuit of a certificate in online teaching, European Union studies, nonprofit management, public management, Spanish for professionals, and teaching English to speakers of other languages; certification in educational leadership, performance-based leadership, or school library media; an endorsement in teaching English to speakers of other languages, gifted education, online teaching, or reading education; and a minor in French language and literature, nutritional science, psychology, or Spanish language and literature.   
 
Since Fall 2016, VSU has also offered students an accelerated option for completing all of the core coursework for a bachelor’s degree in a non-science major in as little as three semesters. Through SmartPath Core, these classes are never full, always available, offered in eight-week sessions, and taught by VSU faculty.  
 
“VSU offers a wide array of online programs at the undergraduate and graduate level,” Giddings said. “Our programs are designed to meet the needs of our traditional students as well as post-traditional students who wish to return to school to complete a degree they started previously or to start their collegiate career for the very first time.”
 
Headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, the SR Education Group was founded in 2004. Its mission is to create authoritative online resources for students seeking an online education program that best suits their budget and career aspirations. It is passionate about making quality education attainable for everyone and believes that objective information about education, careers, and educational financing should be free and easily accessible.
 
Call the Office of Extended Learning at (229) 245-6490 to learn more about online education opportunities available at VSU.