UC's Online Graduate Nursing Program Ranked No. 8

CINCINNATI—The University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Nursing online graduate program came in at No. 8 out of 149 nursing schools ranked by US News & World Report in its 2016 Best Online Programs listing.

The rankings — pulled from surveying distance education programs offered by public, private, and for-profit institutions — reflect scores from peer-to-peer evaluation, one-year retention rates, graduate rates and required time to graduate. 

The college's online graduate program was ranked No. 61 in 2015. 

"Our online programs allow us to meet the nursing education needs of a much larger population," said College of Nursing Dean Greer Glazer, PhD, RN. "Ensuring that our online students receive the same excellent education as our on-campus students has been paramount, and that is reflected in this year's rankings."

UC's College of Nursing was one of the first nursing colleges in the country to offer a complete online program in 2005. Today, the college offers a growing number of specialty master's degrees and certificates online, including Nurse Midwifery, Family Nurse Practitioner and Nursing Administration. The college also offers a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in an online hybrid format. In total, more than 1,200 students are currently enrolled in the college's online graduate nursing programs. 

"Our programs have been running now for a number of years, and our faculty members are experts in using technology and other innovations in teaching," said Denise Gormley, PhD, RN, executive director of the college's graduate programs. "Several of our faculty members are consulting, presenting and publishing about online teaching innovations and technology." 

Karen Roth of Cincinnati used the college's online program to receive her master's degree in 2015 after earning a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) from UC in 2013. 

"The online program allowed me the flexibility of continuing my nursing education while still balancing the important things that matter most," Roth said. "The program was challenging, with an intensive curriculum and clinical requirements but faculty and administrative staff were very supportive and I now have a whole new world of opportunities awaiting. I'm proud to be the first of three generations of UC nurses to graduate with my masters as a Family Nurse Practitioner!"

Roth's mother, Eileen Roth, of Rochester, NY, received her BSN from UC in 1977, and her grandmother, Roberta Maloney, of Dayton, Ohio, graduated in 1945.

The commitment of the college's faculty to teaching innovations has been noticed on a national scale, earning the UC College of Nursing high-profile recognition in the past year that likely contributed to the jump in the 2016 US News & World Report rankings. Among the faculty, Christine Colella, DNP, RN, associate professor of clinical and director of master's specialties, won the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Innovations and Excellence in Teaching Award for 2015. The College of Nursing also received the AACN Innovations in Professional Nursing Education award and the 2015 Insight into Diversity - Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award. These accomplishments followed recognition by Apple as a distinguished program for innovation, leadership and educational excellence.

"I feel these rankings reflect the great strides we've made as leaders in nursing education nationally," Glazer said. "We're continually innovating the way we deliver content, the way we engage students, and most importantly, the way we develop nurses equipped to serve as leaders in the health care profession."