KILLEEN, Texas — Two online graduate programs at Texas A&M University-Central Texas were ranked in the top 100 of U.S. News & World Report's 2019 Best Online Programs.
The university's Masters of Criminal Justice and Masters of Science in Management & Leadership ranked 22nd and 60th, respectively. The online Masters of Business Administration program was ranked 101st, narrowly missing the top 100.
U.S. News & World Report said it takes many factors into consideration for program rankings, including student engagement and excellence, expert opinion, faculty credentials and training and student services and technologies.
Assistant professor Lynn Greenwood said she was thrilled to find out the program she's put so much time into is thriving.
“We consider the criminal justice program to be one of our ‘legacy’ programs,” she said. “It was here when A&M-Central Texas was ATU, UCT, and Tarleton State University-Central Texas. A lot of really amazing people have put their hearts and souls into it and every year, it has only gotten better and stronger.”
A&M-Central Texas recently redesigned the management and leadership program to focus on business, management and sustainability.
Interim Dean of the College of Business Dr. Lucas Loafman said the faculty's combined creativity and scholarly aptitude fostered the MBA program's success.
“Dr. Barbara Altman, Dr. Brad Almond, and Dr. Jody Fry are crucial to our department, but they are particularly important to the online business degree program," he said. "Not only do they work with our online learners every day to support and strengthen their scholarship and their progress toward graduation, but they make sure our online program is as encouraging as it is rigorous.”
President Dr. Marc Nigliazzo said having quality online programs available to students in the Central Texas region and beyond was part of the original vision university leaders had.
“We knew from the moment we opened our doors that we would want as many of our programs as possible to offer degree programs online, so that working adults, military-affiliated adults, and others wouldn’t be excluded from all of the benefits of an advanced degree," he said. "But we also knew that the quality of our programs, either traditional format or online, had to be the absolute best programs we could offer. These rankings suggest that we are arriving on the national stage and ready to take our place among the best online programs in the U.S.”
