07/06/16 sry
HAYS, Kan. -- An online education is on the minds of more students, parents and caregivers each day as balancing full-time jobs and life's challenges makes earning a degree on campus seem impossible.

With more than 20 years of online experience and more than 40 online programs, Fort Hays State University makes its mark on more ranking sites each month as one of the top online choices for earning an associate, bachelor's or master's degree from home.

This month, four different sites ranked the overall programs, the computer science and the RN-to-BSN program offered through FHSU's Virtual College as top choices in the nation.

CollegeValuesOnline.com

No. 2, Top 50 Computer Science Degrees for International Students

According to College Values Online, FHSU's Bachelor of Science in computer science, available online and on campus, ranks as the No. 2 choice for international students.

"Many of the challenges international students face when seeking to study in the U.S. are obvious," says College Values Online. "From the logistics of obtaining all the right paperwork and visas to dealing with admissions policies that often prioritize domestic students over international."

"The ranking considered tuition rates, return on investment, percentage of international students, and distinguishing characteristics using data that was gathered from the Institute of Education Science and Payscale.com," said Jamie Bond, communications manager for College Values Online.

College Values Online estimates $229,500 as the the average 20-year ROI on a computer science degree from FHSU.

"Students in the computer science program at Fort Hays State will find themselves well positioned to pursue jobs with many industry leaders including Apple, Boeing, Facebook, Intel, Netflix, and various federal intelligence agencies and national labs," says College Values Online.

To view this ranking, visit http://bit.ly/2929Uft.

CollegeChoice.net

No. 3, Best Online RN-to-BSN Programs, 2016

College Choice ranks the online RN-to-BSN program at FHSU third in a list of 50. Using College Choice's ranking methodology, FHSU's program earned a score of 99.63 out of 100.

As registered nurses, online students can enroll in FHSU's Bachelor of Science nursing program. Students don't need to move to Hays and are able to fulfill the clinical portion of the program in their hometowns.

To view this ranking, visit http://bit.ly/291iDQ4.

Last month, this same program was ranked No. 9 by BestCollegeReviews.org.

BestDegreePrograms.org

No. 10, 50 Most Affordable Online Degree Programs for In-State Students 2016

While the tuition for on-campus courses increase for out-of-state students, the online courses at FHSU are the same cost per credit hour whether a student is from Kansas, New York, Canada or Thailand.

For the 2015-16 academic year, Fort Hays State University was the only state university in Kansas that did not increase online tuition rates. Tuition per credit hour for the 2015-16 academic year was $194.14 for undergraduates, $253.07 for graduates and $400 for M.B.A. students. The 2016-17 academic year, however, students can expect a 6-percent tuition increase, still making FHSU the top affordability choice for online Kansas students.

"The ranking was created using the National Center for Educational Statistics College Navigator database to narrow our list down to schools based on in-state net price and accreditation," said Jamie Agamalian, manager of online communications for Best Degree Programs. "We then ranked the schools in order of affordability."

To view this ranking, visit http://bit.ly/1UAWq8K.

MastersProgramsGuide.com

No. 31, 50 Best Online Graduate Programs 2015-2016

FHSU's graduate degree programs offered through the Virtual College rank as the 31st best choice for online students, beating out Kansas State University, the University of Missouri, Texas Tech University and Pennsylvania State University.

Master's Programs Guide says that while online students need to be self-motivated and organized, it is also a university's job to provide a wide range of technological tools and resources to help students succeed.

To create this ranking, Master's Programs Guide used information from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. News and World Report, and school websites. Criteria considered in the rankings includes accreditation, offering more than 10 graduate degrees that are 100-percent online, average level of student debt at graduation, student support services available remotely and student access to technology.

"It's terrific that you are able to offer high-quality education combined with the flexibility of online coursework so that people who are unable to take advantage of traditional college are still able to obtain the knowledge and degrees to better themselves and excel in their chosen fields," said Anne Velusa with Master's Programs Guide.

To view this ranking, visit http://bit.ly/1XYrmqo.