Cedar Crest College ranked as one of best for online master’s degrees

Cedar Crest College, Allentown, has been ranked as one of the year’s best schools for earning a master’s degree online by OnlineMastersDegrees.org.  

Cedar Crest was recognized for excellence in the following subject areas: 

• Best Nutrition Master’s Programs Online 
•  Best Online MFA Programs in Creative Writing 
• Best Online Master of Science in Nursing Programs 

Cedar Crest’s recognition comes at a time when enrollment in master’s degree programs is on the rise, OnlineMastersDegree.org said.  

In October of 2021, the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) reported a 7.3 % increase in first-time graduate student enrollment in Fall 2020. First-time, part-time student enrollment rose by 13.5%. The CGS report cites the growth of online and hybrid learning options as a primary driver of these trends. 

“As enrollment in master’s degree programs expands, it’s important to showcase colleges and universities with a clear focus on flexible learning and affordable tuition,” said Kyle Darland, co-founder of OnlineMastersDegrees.org. “Each school in our rankings offers partially or fully-online master’s degree options and a price tag that works for students.” 

OnlineMastersDegrees.org analyzed more than 7,700 schools using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Their data science team then created an algorithm to rank these schools in 70 unique master’s degree subjects. To qualify, a school must hold active regional accreditation and have both academic counseling and career placement services available to students. Primary data points applied to the ranking algorithm include the following: 

• Number of online programs in subject area
• Number of online students
• Online program tuition and fees
• Percentage of students offered institutional aid
• Amount of institutional aid awarded per student

In addition to ranking online master’s programs in each subject overall, OnlineMastersDegrees.org developed individual category rankings. Schools can see how they stack up against their peers in each ranking metric. This also helps prospective students identify which schools excel in the areas that matter the most to them. 

“Each student has different professional and academic priorities,” said Darland. “For example, one student might need a school with multiple online program options in their subject area, while another needs a school that offers generous student aid packages. These category rankings help students target institutions based on their specific wants and needs.”