High Marks for Distance Ed

By Erica Plouffe Lazure

East Carolina University’s distance education programs received top rankings from an organization that evaluates online degree programs.

GetEducated.com ranked the university’s online MBA and computer science degree programs No. 1 nationally. ECU’s online education degree program was ranked No. 3.

The organization, which serves as a clearinghouse to showcase and evaluate accredited online degrees, employs college experts to review each online program. All three programs were deemed “Best Buys” by the web site, http://www.geteducated.com/index.asp.

Elmer Poe, associate vice chancellor for academic outreach at ECU, said part of the university’s mission is to deliver the best possible education to students, both on and off campus.

“ECU has strived not only to increase access through online programs, but also to ensure that the programs are the best they can be,” he said.

ECU offers more than 50 undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs away from campus, and has the largest number of enrolled distance education students in the state of North Carolina. About 3,700 students are enrolled away from the campus in these programs.