U.S. News Ranks Online Program As Largest In Nation

U.S. News and World Report has cited Old Dominion’s online graduate engineering program as being the largest in the nation, based on student enrollment numbers, thanks in large part to a unique CD-ROM program the university offers primarily to U.S. Navy nuclear-qualified officers.

“With our focus on distance education opportunities coupled with a challenging curriculum, outstanding faculty and research excellence, students receive a first-rate and practical education through our Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology,” said engineering dean Oktay Baysal.

In a fall issue examining e-learning, the news magazine surveyed 1,000 institutions to compile a detailed list of 332 graduate-level, e-learning programs in business, education, engineering, library science, nursing and public health. It then named the top five largest programs in each field measured by enrollment.

The Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology boasted the largest program, enrolling 1,499 students in fall 2003. Rounding out the top five were: New Jersey Institute of Technology, 831; University of Southern California, 751; Florida Institute of Technology, 566; and Virginia Tech, 441.

According to Dean Baysal, the program’s success can be traced to the focus on distance learning by the university as a whole and to a number of unique programs the college offers, such as the master of engineering management degree offered via CD-ROM to U.S. Navy nuclear officers.

The unique CD-ROM program, launched in 2000, enrolls more than 600 Navy personnel. Coupled with ODU’s program granting 12 credits toward engineering master’s degree programs to graduates of the Navy’s Officer Nuclear Power School, the CD-ROM program allows personnel to complete a master’s in about two years.