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U.S. News & World Report has named four ����ֱ�� State University programs as U.S. News Best Online Programs for 2021. ����ֱ�� State is recognized in the Best Online Master’s in Nursing Programs, Best Online MBA Programs, Best Online MBA – Business Analytics Programs and Best Online Graduate Education Programs rankings. ����ֱ�� State’s Online MBA with a concentration in business analytics program ranks No. 25 in the nation, and its online master’s in nursing program ranks in the top 100 in the country in the latest rankings released by U.S. News on Tuesday, Jan. 26.

����ֱ�� State’s online master’s in nursing program, offered by the College of Nursing, is ranked in the top 100 in the country by U.S. News. The program improved its ranking to No. 92, up from last year’s ranking of No. 109. Among public institutions, ����ֱ�� State’s online master’s in nursing program jumps to No. 66.

����ֱ�� State’s online master’s in nursing program prepares registered nurses for roles in advanced practice, education and healthcare administration. Students in this program develop a foundation for further postgraduate and doctoral-level study in nursing. Nurses beyond Northeast Ohio are able to take advantage of the College of Nursing’s excellent program.

“I am so proud of our graduate faculty, led by our Associate Dean of Nursing Graduate Programs, Dr. Wendy Umberger, who continue to work diligently to provide a rigorous curriculum and join with the staff to support our students,” said Denice Sheehan, Ph.D., interim dean and Henderson Memorial Endowed Chair of ����ֱ�� State’s College of Nursing. “It is especially gratifying to see the ranking of our graduate nursing programs improve in 2021 through the collaborative work of many to achieve this high honor. I am also grateful to our graduate students who work hard to earn their degrees.” 

����ֱ�� State’s Online MBA program, offered by the College of Business Administration, boasts two placements in the Best Online Programs rankings. ����ֱ�� State’s Online MBA with a concentration in business analytics ranked No. 25 in the nation in the U.S. News 2021 Online MBA specialty ranking, and the overall Online MBA program ranks No. 126 in the country among all higher education institutions.
 
This is the first time that ����ֱ�� State’s College of Business Administration has received a specialty ranking from U.S. News, and ����ֱ�� State is the only Ohio institution to be ranked in the business analytics concentration category. 

“We worked with industry leaders to develop this concentration to help prepare Online MBA students for in-demand roles in business analytics,” said Deborah F. Spake, Ph.D., dean of ����ֱ�� State’s College of Business Administration. “We are delighted to be recognized for these efforts as we do our part to meet this industry need.” 
 
Online MBA students who select the business analytics concentration are required to take three business analytics courses. After completing a fourth business analytics course, students can also receive a graduate certificate in business analytics. The College of Business Administration also offers a Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) program with both in-person and online options. This provides students the opportunity to earn an MBA and MSBA with some overlapping coursework.
 
In addition to the No. 25 ranking, ����ֱ�� State’s Online MBA is ranked among the Best Online MBA Programs in the 2021 rankings. Among the public universities, ����ֱ�� State’s Online MBA program ranks in the top 100. It is also the highest-ranked online MBA program in northern Ohio. This is the third year ����ֱ�� State’s Online MBA, which was launched in fall 2017, has been ranked by U.S. News.
 
The Online MBA program provides students access to world-renowned faculty and strategically designed courses in a flexible format. ����ֱ�� State’s College of Business Administration recently reached Quality Matters (QM) certification for all core courses in the Online MBA program. In addition to the U.S. News ranking, the college recently ranked No. 26 in The Princeton Review’s Top 50 Online MBA Programs for 2021. 

����ֱ�� State’s online graduate education programs have again been recognized as the highest ranked at a public university in Northeast Ohio by U.S. News on its 2021 Best Online Graduate Education Programs list. This list compiles the rankings of online programs offering master’s degrees in education. ����ֱ�� State’s online graduate education programs moved up to No. 132 on the list, compared to last year’s ranking of No. 140. Among public universities, the ����ֱ�� State online graduate education programs rank at No. 103. This is the fourth year ����ֱ�� State’s online graduate education programs have been ranked by U.S. News.
 
����ֱ�� State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services offers online master’s degrees in education in four program areas: Educational Psychology, Educational Technology, Evaluation and Measurement and Special Education.
 
“We are proud to once again be recognized as the U.S. News & World Report leading provider of online graduate education in Northeast Ohio at a public university,” said James C. Hannon, Ph.D., dean of ����ֱ�� State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services. “Our ranking is an indication of the creative, engaging and high-quality online programs offered in our college at the master’s level.”

The U.S. News 2021 Best Online Programs rankings assess master’s degrees and bachelor’s degrees administered mostly through distance education. The 2021 edition ranks the most online degree offerings in U.S. News Best Online Programs history, assessing 1,641 online degree programs. U.S. News ranked the online programs using five categories: engagement, expert opinion, faculty credentials and training, services and technologies, and student excellence. This is the 10th year U.S. News has collected data from distance education master’s and bachelor’s degree completion programs. For more information about the U.S. News 2021 Best Online Programs rankings, visit .

For more information about the ����ֱ�� State College of Nursing’s online master’s in nursing program, visit www.kent.edu/nursing/programs/masters.

For more information about the ����ֱ�� State College of Business Administration’s Online MBA program, including the Business Analytics concentration, visit www.kent.edu/business/onlinemba. 

For more information about the ����ֱ�� State College of Education, Health and Human Services’ online graduate education programs, visit www.kent.edu/ehhs/online-programs. 

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Media Contacts:
Mariah Gibbons, College of Nursing, mgibbon2@kent.edu, 330-672-8756
Joni Bowen, College of Business Administration, jbowen1@kent.edu, 330-672-1279
Kedron Trapp, College of Education, Health and Human Services, ktaylo57@kent.edu, 330-672-3697
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595