In all three sectors, business and health professions were among the most popular majors for distance-education students. Of all the colleges that ranked in the top 15 for their sector, the one with the highest share of students outside the United States was Fort Hays State University, in Kansas. More than a third of its students lived abroad.
Public institutions
| 1. | U. of Maryland-University College | business, computer science | 39,482 | 83.4% | 15.7% | 0.6% |
| 2. | Thomas Edison State U. (N.J.) | interdisciplinary studies, liberal arts | 21,341 | 43.8% | 53.0% | 0.6% |
| 3. | Arizona State U.-Skysong | health professions, psychology | 12,715 | 34.7% | 64.3% | 1.0% |
| 4. | Pennsylvania State U.-World Campus | business, psychology | 10,805 | 37.8% | 57.2% | 2.9% |
| 5. | U. of Texas at Arlington | health professions, business | 10,302 | 67.2% | 32.8% | 0.0% |
| 6. | St. Petersburg College (Fla.) | liberal arts, health professions | 9,630 | 96.5% | 2.8% | 0.1% |
| 7. | Colorado State U.-Global Campus | business, computer science | 9,259 | 47.7% | 51.2% | 1.1% |
| 8. | Fort Hays State U. (Kan.) | business, education | 9,025 | 38.8% | 25.6% | 35.6% |
| 9. | Ohio U. | health professions, business | 8,314 | 69.2% | 30.2% | 0.6% |
| 10. | U. of Central Florida | business, health professions | 7,942 | 98.1% | 1.9% | 0.0% |
| 11. | Troy U. (Ala.) | business, psychology | 7,826 | 39.0% | 60.2% | 0.2% |
| 12. | College of Southern Nevada | liberal arts, business | 6,156 | 94.5% | 4.8% | 0.1% |
| 13. | State U. of New York Empire State College | business, interdisciplinary studies | 5,993 | 90.1% | 8.8% | 0.8% |
| 14. | Lamar U. (Tex.) | interdisciplinary studies, health professions | 5,949 | 91.9% | 8.1% | 0.0% |
| 15. | U. of Cincinnati | health professions, business | 5,921 | 48.6% | 50.5% | 0.8% |
Private nonprofit institutions
| 1. | Liberty U. (Va.) | business, psychology | 67,780 | 19.5% | 78.5% | 1.4% |
| 2. | Western Governors U. (Utah) | health professions, business | 57,821 | 7.5% | 91.8% | 0.1% |
| 3. | Excelsior College (N.Y.) | liberal arts, health professions | 41,527 | 13.9% | 85.5% | 0.6% |
| 4. | Southern New Hampshire U. | business, psychology | 35,861 | 13.6% | 85.4% | 0.6% |
| 5. | Everest U.-South Orlando Campus (Fla.) | business, homeland security | 21,839 | 7.5% | 92.1% | 0.4% |
| 6. | Brigham Young U.-Idaho | business, health professions | 20,071 | 10.3% | 30.5% | 13.1% |
| 7. | National U. (Calif.) | business, health professions | 11,382 | 86.3% | 12.6% | 0.2% |
| 8. | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical U.-Worldwide (Fla.)* | transportation and materials moving, business | 10,928 | n/a
| n/a | n/a |
| 9. | Saint Leo U. (Fla.) | business, homeland security | 10,247 | 34.8% | 49.8% | 1.0% |
| 10. | Nova Southeastern U. (Fla.) | health professions, biological and biomedical sciences | 10,133 | 57.6% | 36.7% | 3.7% |
| 11. | Columbia College (Mo.) | business, liberal arts | 9,340 | 37.3% | 61.1% | 1.5% |
| 12. | Bellevue U. (Neb.) | business, computer science | 7,793 | 36.4% | 61.5% | 0.2% |
| 13. | Indiana Wesleyan U.-Marion | business, health professions | 7,488 | 52.6% | 47.2% | 0.2% |
| 14. | Keiser U. at Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) | health professions, homeland security | 6,958 | 66.5% | 21.8% | 1.3% |
| 15. | Park U. (Mo.) | business, psychology | 6,056 | 13.8% | 86.2% | 0.0% |
For-profit institutions
| 1. | U. of Phoenix-Arizona | business, health professions | 187,536 | 4.5% | 94.4% | 0.6% |
| 2. | American Public University system (W.Va.) | business, homeland security | 57,539 | 1.5% | 92.0% | 6.6% |
| 3. | Walden U. (Minn.) | health professions, business | 52,188 | 1.9% | 89.6% | 8.2% |
| 4. | Kaplan U. at Davenport (Iowa)* | health professions, business | 51,879 | 1.1% | n/a | 0.3% |
| 5. | Ashford U. (Calif.) | business, education | 50,541 | 10.5% | 87.6% | 1.9% |
| 6. | Grand Canyon U. (Ariz.) | health professions, education | 49,685 | 19.6% | 79.9% | 0.5% |
| 7. | Capella U. (Minn.) | business, computer science | 35,061 | 3.8% | 95.7% | 0.6% |
| 8. | Colorado Technical U.-Online | business, homeland security | 21,558 | 4.8% | 94.5% | 0.6% |
| 9. | Columbia Southern U. (Ala.) | business, homeland security | 21,359 | 7.3% | 90.4% | 2.2% |
| 10. | DeVry U. of Illinois | business, computer science | 19,967 | 17.9% | 80.7% | 1.0% |
| 11. | Chamberlain College of Nursing at Addison (Ill.) | health professions | 16,467 | 11.1% | 88.8% | 0.0% |
| 12. | Grantham U. (Kan.) | business, interdisciplinary studies | 12,577 | 1.6% | 89.6% | 0.0% |
| 13. | Full Sail U. (Fla.) | visual and performing arts, communications technologies | 12,431 | 14.4% | 84.0% | 1.5% |
| 14. | American InterContinental U.-Online (Ill.) | business, homeland security | 11,900 | 5.5% | 93.8% | 0.6% |
| 15. | South U.-Savannah Online (Ga.) | health professions, business | 11,522 | 14.3% | 85.4% | 0.3% |
* The residency of all or nearly all students enrolled in distance education at this college was either unknown or not reported.
Note: “Homeland security” includes law enforcement, firefighting, and related protective services. Top bachelor’s programs are determined based on the number of completions in each program from July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2015; some of those degrees may have gone to students who were not studying exclusively through distance education. Percentages may not add to 100 because the percentages of students whose location was unknown or not reported are not shown.
Source: Chronicle analysis of U.S. Department of Education data</p>
