MSU's Sports Management degree tops national list of online degrees

Midwestern State University's Sports Management degree earned a national first place designation from an online college rating site, and another site has placed MSU's online program in its top 10.

AffordableColleges.com ranked MSU first in a national list of Affordable Online Master's Degrees in Sports Management. To determine the rating, a formula analyzed financial metrics such as tuition, students who receive financial aid, net price, and loan default rate, in addition to student success metrics such as enrollment rate, full-time retention rate, graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio, and the admission rate. The number of online programs offered and the percentage of students taking at least one online course also were considered.

Student success data measures how invested a school is in taking care of its students. "This data is crucial in determining how much value students are getting for their money, and helps to differentiate quality, affordable schools from schools that are simply cheap," the site states.

Visit their website for the full list and more information.

CollegeStart.org ranked MSU ninth for Best Online Colleges in Texas for 2017. Colleges included in the listings cover all areas of study possible including criminal justice, nursing, art and design, science, liberal arts, education and technology.

Graduation rate, cost, acceptance rate, enrollment rate, student-to-faculty ratio, percentage of students receiving financial aid, loan default rate, and salary after attending college were determining factors. Weights were allocated to different metrics depending on each factor's contribution to college quality and affordability.

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and College Scorecard was used in determining the ranking. Visit CollegeStart.org for full listing.