Northern online programs top-ranked

Montana State University-Nortthern is ranked by a national service as the second-most affordable online four-year degree program in Montana and its online nursing program the fourth-best in the nation.

Onlinecolleges.com, a website that offers information about online college education, ranked the programs. The website says the list of affordable online programs was ranked by tuition costs from lowest to highest. The website says more than 250 online nursing programs were ranked using information that includes tuition costs and fees, admission rates and graduation rates.

"We are pleased that our online courses and programs are getting the recognition they deserve," Northern Chancellor Greg Kegel said in a statement. "We work hard to provide quality programs at an affordable rate, and this ranking confirms our commitment to affordability.

"We were one of the first (Bachelor of Science in Nursing online) programs in the nation, so we have had many years to refine our program and develop partnerships that have helped to make our online nursing program fourth in the nation," he said.

"With a student-faculty ratio of about 14 to one, students at Montana State University-Northern can rest assured they will receive top-notch attention from their teachers, even when taking the popular online RN-BSN completion program," the Onlinecolleges.com website says. "The program builds on previous education with courses in community, health, leadership, management and advanced clinical practice."

Northern's website says it offers bachelor degree programs in nursing, business administration, criminal justice, business technology, trades management and community leadership. Online associate degrees are offered in general education and business. Northern also offers a Master of Education in instruction and design online.

Online programs for minors in business technology, marketing, accounting and small business management are also offered. Larry Strizich, interim provost at Northern said the low cost of online degree programs is a reflection of the low cost of tuition at Northern overall.

"We're basically pretty affordable," Strizitch said. "We've had a tuition freeze in Montana for 10 years."

He said the tuition is the same for an online course as it is for a face-to-face course, but students who take an online course are charged an additional fee for software.

Northern began offering online degree programs about 12 years ago, with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

Strizich said Northern was one of the first in Montana to offer a registered nurse and Bachelors of Science in nursing online. Other colleges in Montana have since begun to offer such programs.

The online nursing program focuses on a lot of administrative elements but still has clinical requirements, Strizitch said. He added that online students can meet their clinical requirements at a health care facility near them rather than coming to Havre.

Strizitch, who also has taken online courses, said some universities use corporate providers of online courses, with instructors teaching from anywhere in the world. At Northern, he said, faculty are encouraged to teach their online classes while teaching and doing their academic work on campus. He said that makes professors more accessible to students, who can access online chat capabilities or call instructors if they feel the need to do so.

Northern is also unique, Caleb Hutchins of Northern's Extended University said, in the type of courses it offers compared to other universities.

"A lot of colleges have more of the liberal arts of kind of degrees online, but I think Northern is relatively unique in the amount of technical, career-oriented classes we offer online," he said.

Hutchins said about 500 students take online courses, but many face-to-face courses also have an online element. Many students in traditional classes, he said, are doing homework and tests online or getting feedback or accessing their grades online. The introduction of those online elements, he said, is changing the nature of the classroom.

"In my mind, the distinctions between online and face-to-face classes are starting to blur and at some point in the future, there isn't really going to be a distinction," Hutchins said.

Hutchins said the rankings might be able to raise Northern's profile as an online college and attract students from outside the Havre area.

In online programs only Montana State University-Western, which charges $4,835 in annual fees and tuition, was ranked ahead of Northern in the state. Northern charges $5,329 in tuition and fees.

Mississippi University for Women, Georgia Highlands College and Winston Salem State University all came in ahead of Northern for Best Online Nursing program in the nation.