Tremendous Value | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post, Crystal Baity, is a contributor to ECU News Services.

ECU listed near top of rankings by two organizations

    East Carolina University and its School of Communication are ranked near the top in two annual listings recently released by different organizations.

    ECU is ranked No. 57 out of almost 1,200 universities in the nation by Educate To Career in its 2016 College Rankings Index.

    ECU's bachelor of science in communication, with a concentration in interpersonal/organizational communication, is ranked 13th in the nation for its online degree program by Affordable Colleges Online.

    The rankings by Educate to Career provide "actual college outcomes data," according to the California nonprofit.

    Provost Ron Mitchelson said the rankings reflect ECU's tremendous value for students and focus on student success.

    "For each of the past two years we have ranked in the top 5 percent of all schools indexed," Mitchelson said. "We are the second highest ranked within the UNC system. And we are the highest ranked among our official peer group."

    ECU recorded its highest enrollment ever this fall with a total of 28,289 students.

    The Educate To Career index analyzes data from four-year colleges with enrollments of 1,000 students or more. The index evaluates the total costs related to attending college and the outcomes of the students when they enter the workforce. The rankings are determined by which schools did the best job of improving the earnings and attainment of quality employment of their students, according to the ETC website.

    Some of the data used includes percentage of graduates employed in occupations using their field of study, average salary, employment within one year of graduation and the number of years in school.

    The online programs of hundreds of colleges and universities throughout the U.S. including ECU were compared by Affordable Colleges Online to develop its ranking.

    "Our faculty work very hard to provide the best online education available," says Dr. Linda Kean, the director of the School of Communication. "Our courses are rigorous, dynamic and incredibly well structured. Each faculty member brings his or her own ideas to the program and utilizes a multitude of well-designed activities, assignments and points of interaction."

    There are 144 students enrolled in the online program, Kean said.

    Schools must meet a number of criteria to be eligible for the Affordable Colleges Online ranking:

• Be a public or private, not-for-profit institution
• Offer at least one fully-online bachelor's degree program
• Provide academic and counseling services for students
• Offer job placement services for graduates

East Carolina University students walk towards campus near Joyner East, right, where the ECU School of Communication is housed. The school was ranked 13th in the nation for its online bachelor's degree program by Educate to Career. (Photo by Cliff Hollis)