UTSA Online ranked No. 85 in U.S. News rankings for online bachelor’s programs

By Gauri Raje News Editor

Last week, UTSA Online ranked No. 85 in the U.S. News and World Report’s list of “Best Online Bachelor’s Programs of 2023.” The ranking was 161 spots higher than the program’s previous rank of No. 246 in 2021.

According to U.S. News, the criteria for evaluation included engagement, services and technologies, expert opinion/ peer assessment, and faculty credentials and training.

“[The ranking] has nothing to do with the quantity. It has to do with the quality,” Suzana Díaz Rosencrans, assistant vice provost for Online Programs, said.

Melissa Vito, vice provost for academic innovation, explained that the Academic Innovations team works very closely with faculty to ensure the quality of classes and instruction for the program, given its asynchronous nature. This includes regular assessments and collaborations between Academic Innovation’s instructional design team and faculty to develop creative and interactive courses.

“For online students, who are never on campus, it’s triply important that the experience be strong for them because it’s the way that they connect to faculty,” Vito said. “They’re not going to take a couple of face-to-face classes and feel comfortable there.”

With regard to the online program’s quality, Rosencrans also highlighted the importance of retention rates. Over the past year, the program’s retention rates have been high, with 83% of students from the Fall 2021 semester returning for the Spring 2022 and 85% of students from the Summer 2022 semester returning for the Fall 2022 semester.

“[The program’s retention rates are a] reflection of the quality of the teaching [and] the quality of the curriculum. It speaks well of the team that ensures that we get the right

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