APUS University Programs Rank Among Best in the Nation

January 9, 2014

US News & World Report Names APUS Undergraduate Programs Among Best in Overall Quality for Second Consecutive Year in 2014 Online Rankings

Charles Town, WV, January 8, 2014—American Public University System (APUS)

Today announced that its undergraduate programs have been named to U.S. News & World Report’s annual qualitative ranking of top online degree programs for the second consecutive year. APUS ranked #34 nationally out of 283 schools offering online bachelor’s degree programs, or in the top 12 percent overall.

“It’s gratifying to have our undergraduate programs again be recognized for overall quality,” said Jennifer Stephens Helm, VP of institutional research and assessment for APUS. “However, while US News adjusted its ranking criteria this year to incorporate input from stakeholders, we believe there remains a disproportionate focus on graduation statistics similar to IPEDS, at the expense of the tangible learning and career outcomes most relevant to adult learners.”

“Since approximately 90% of our students are working adults and do not take a full-time course load, their attendance and persistence are not readily balanced with their career and life commitments. Through our ongoing dialogue with US News, it is our hope that their future rankings will better reflect these dynamics, along with the documented, third-party validation of the academic quality of our programs,” Helm added.

For more than two decades, APUS has offered affordable, accessible, quality academic programs to military and civilian students in a collaborative, 100% online classroom led by faculty scholar-practitioners who are leaders in their fields. The University and its senior leadership have been nationally recognized by the Sloan Consortium for excellence in online education. It also participates in the National Survey of Student Engagement and was recently selected as one of 12 Founding Institutions for the pilot of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education’s Gateways to Completion™ (G2C™) process. APUS was the first fully-online university to participate in the Institute’s Foundations of Excellence Program, and was also recently chosen to participate in the inaugural offering of the Higher Learning Commission’s (HLC) Academy for Student Persistence and Completion.

About American Public University System
American Public University System, winner of the Sloan Consortium’s Ralph E. Gomory Award for Quality Online Education and first three-time recipient of Sloan’s Effective Practice Award, offers more than 90 online degree programs through American Public University and American Military University. APUS’s relevant curriculum, affordability and flexibility help more than 100,000 working adults worldwide pursue degrees in a diverse variety of subjects. For further information, visit www.apus.edu.

Contact Us for Media Inquiries:
pr@apus.edu | Brian Muys, Associate VP, Public Relations | 571-358-3145 (w) | 703-268-1143 (c)