Since I have posted about the top 20 online colleges, and we found out that these rankings are based on several criteria and metrics, my attention was caught by some of the metrics which I think deserves to be discussed separately because of their significance in choosing the right university for each one of us. Some of us may want to study in a university that not everybody can study because of its strict screening that often implies reputation or prestige.
One of the interesting metrics for me is the Acceptance Rate. Why? Because this is the one which reflects the selectivity of online university. We have a connotation that quality colleges are selective on the students they are accepting. We are aware that schools with above average standards are those who strictly screened their students.
The OED obtained the data used for this ranking at the College Opportunities Online Locator database from the Institute of Education Sciences, a sub-agency of the US Department of Education. However, the data used for this ranking was from the Fall 2005 entering undergraduate class.
Here are the top online universities based on Acceptance Rate:
Name of School                              Acceptance Rate
- Grand Canyon University                            33.2%
- Colorado Technical University                     35.6%
- American InterContinental University          46.3%
- Westwood College                                     48.0%
- Jones International University                    58.6%
- Post University                                         62.4%
- Fisher College                                          66.6%
- Florida Metropolitan University                  68.6%
- Western International University         77.7%
- Capella University                                    87.2%
- South University                                      92.0%
- Bellevue University                                 100.0%
- Central Texas College                             100.0%
- City University                                       100.0%
- Granite State College                             100.0%
- Northcentral University                          100.0%
- Strayer University                                 100.0%
- University of Maryland University            100.0%
- University of Phoenix                            100.0%
- Western Governors University               100.0%
Disclaimer: Not all online universities have data or submitted figures for the said criteria, the results are based on the data obtained on the College Opportunities Online Locator (COOL) database from the Institute of Education Sciences, a sub-agency of the US Department of Education.