Top & Best Colleges Definition

Top & Best Colleges Definition


Top/Best Online Degrees

With respect to online degrees, “top” or “best” refer to the ten completely online degree-and certificate-granting colleges & universities with the largest number of distance education enrollments by available subject fields in 2021, as reported by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). A complete list of the colleges & universities in the NCES report is here. Any matching college or university will be sponsors in our network, not all of which are in the NCES report. The schools listed in this report may offer Bachelor’s, Associate, Master’s, Doctoral (including Ph.Ds), undergraduate, and/or graduate degree programs. For a list of the 120 colleges & universities with the largest completions by degree level for 2020-2021, please click here

Top/Best Online Colleges & Universities

With respect to online colleges & universities, “top” or “best” refer to the 120 degree- and certificate-granting colleges & universities with the largest number of distance education enrollments in 2021, as reported by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). A complete list of the colleges & universities in the NCES report is here. Any matching college or university will be sponsors in our network, not all of which are in the NCES report. The schools listed in this report may offer Bachelor’s, Associate, Master’s, Doctoral (including Ph.Ds), undergraduate, and/or graduate degree programs. For a list of the 120 colleges & universities with the largest completions by degree level for 2020-2021, please click here

Top/Best Degrees and Degree Programs

With respect to degrees, “top” or “best” refer to the 120 degree- and certificate-granting colleges & universities with the highest enrollments by available subject fields in 2021, as reported by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). A complete list of the colleges & universities in the NCES report is here. Any matching college or university will be sponsors in our network, not all of which are in the NCES report. The schools listed in this report may offer Bachelor’s, Associate, Master’s, Doctoral (including Ph.Ds), undergraduate, and/or graduate degree programs. For a list of the 120 colleges & universities with the largest completions by degree level for 2020-2021, please click here

Top/Best Online Degree Programs

With respect to degree programs, “top” or “best” refer to the U.S. News & World Report ranking of Best Online Programs, which include online bachelor’s degrees and online master’s degree programs. Not all programs at matching colleges & universities are included in the U.S. News & World Report ranking. A complete list of the programs in the U.S. News & World Report ranking is located here

Top/Best Colleges & Universities

With respect to colleges & universities, “top” or “best” refer to the 120 largest degree-granting college and university campuses in 2020, as reported by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). A complete list of the colleges & universities in the NCES report is here. Any matching college or university will be sponsors in our network, not all of which are in the NCES report. The schools listed in this report may offer Bachelor’s, Associate, Master’s, Doctoral (including Ph.Ds), undergraduate, and/or graduate degree programs. For a list of the 120 colleges & universities with the largest completions by degree level for 2020-2021, please click here