Bristol Community College makes top 10 best MA online colleges in 2017

Bristol Comunity College came in 10th for Masachusetts online colleges in 2017 according to OnlineColleges.com.

Using the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, they generated a list of colleges and universities that met the following criteria:

Level of institution is either “Four or more years” or “At least 2 but less than 4 years”
At least 1% of students are taking at least some of the classes via distance education

The rankings were based on 14 criteria, using 2015 data from the National Center for Education Statistics:

Number of programs offered via distance education
Ratio of students participating fully or partially in distance education to total enrollment
Average in-state tuition for undergraduate and, if applicable, graduate students
Total electronic library collections, including digital books, databases and media
Graduation rate
Retention rate
The availability of the following tuition plans:
Payment plan
Guaranteed tuition plan
Other alternative tuition plan
The availability of academic/ career counseling services
The availability of job placement services for graduates
The availability of virtual reference services
Offers dual credit
Offers credit for life experience
Offers advanced placement (AP) credit
Offers credit for military training

All schools were scored on a 10-point scale for each of the points listed above. Individual data point scores were then multiplied by their respective weights, and the scores were added together, for a maximum possible score of 10 points.

University of Massachusetts Lowell came in first while University of Massachusetts Amherst came in second place.

For a full list, go here: https://www.onlinecolleges.com/top-colleges-tool/massachusetts.html