MSU's Health Administration Degree Tops National List

Midwestern State University's graduate program in health administration has been ranked first in a listing of 134 online master's programs by the website GradSource. With a fifth place affordability rank and a prominence rank of 27th, GradSource calls the program "a reputable graduate degree in healthcare administration at a reasonable price tag."

The degree, offered by the Robert D. and Carol Gunn College of Health Services and Human Services, aims to equip students with leadership skills for an increasingly complex health industry. The master's program in health administration is especially designed for people working full time while attaining their degree. The program offers both face-to-face and online courses.

To be included in the rankings, all colleges had to meet the following criteria: offer the particular graduate program online, offer academic and career counseling services, enroll both full-time and part-time graduate students, have at least 1 percent of graduate students enrolled solely in distance education classes, and have awarded at least one graduate degree in that subject between 2011 and 2014.

— Qualifying schools were ranked on five weighted criteria:

— Affordability, based on the in-state average tuition for full-time graduate students and the in-state per credit hour charge for part-time graduate students. (30 percent)

— Flexibility, based on the ratio of part-time to full-time graduate students and the percentage of graduate students enrolled in any distance education courses. (15 percent)

— Program prominence, based on how many of the master's degrees awarded in the past three years were from this particular program. (20 percent)

— Student success, based on the ratio of the number of students receiving master's or doctoral degrees to the total number of graduate students enrolled over three academic years. (15 percent)

Related degrees, based on the number of degrees the school offers in a similar subject. (20 percent)

GradSource.com provides comprehensive academic and career information, including program overviews, school rankings and job outlooks, assisting prospective graduate students in making informed decisions about their future.

Data used in the rankings is available through the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. To see the complete listing, visit GradSource here.