College Consensus Publishes Composite Ranking of the Best Online Public Colleges & Universities for 2021

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Apr 27, 2021, 11:43 ET

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C., April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- College Consensus (https://www.collegeconsensus.com/), a unique college ratings website that aggregates publisher rankings and student reviews, has published its annual ranking of the Best Online Public Colleges & Universities for 2021 at https://www.collegeconsensus.com/rankings/best-online-public-colleges/

College Consensus Best Online Public Colleges & Universities for 2021

Public colleges and universities exist to make higher education accessible to as many people as possible. The nation's top public institutions of higher education have proven that accessibility does not require compromising excellence. These schools provide challenging academics while maintaining their commitment to supporting students at all levels and from all backgrounds.

Public universities pioneered distance education, with programs like Penn State's correspondence courses in agriculture for farmers, or education by radio and television at the University of Louisville and the University of Wisconsin. Now that the internet is widely available, even in rural and remote areas, it provides one of the best ways to help universities reach people. "College Consensus now provides the most comprehensive database of online colleges and universities available," says founder Jeremy Alder. "Even before the pandemic, we saw a need to provide prospective students with a resource dedicated to ranking online institutions because as online learning grows, the quality of each program needs to be assessed."

Colleges and universities in the Best Online Public Colleges and Universities ranking must have a Consensus Score and at least 3 fully online bachelor's degree or bachelor's completion programs to qualify. Schools are arranged in order of their Consensus Score.

The top three Best Online Public Colleges and Universities for 2021 are 1) University of Florida, 2) California State University, Chico, and 3) The Citadel Military College of South Carolina. The remaining top-ranked schools are listed below in descending order.

Appalachian State University
Eastern Illinois University
Rutgers University--New Brunswick
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Iowa
University of Arizona
University of Massachusetts--Amherst
Clemson University
Central Washington University
Radford University
University of Central Florida
George Mason University
California State University--East Bay
SUNY College at Oswego
Rutgers University--Newark
University of Utah
Colorado State University--Fort Collins
Washington State University
University of Wisconsin--Stevens Point
University of West Florida
University of South Florida
University of Oklahoma--Norman Campus