All three Alabama Baptist colleges — Judson College in Marion, Samford University in Birmingham and the University of Mobile (UM) — were named among the best four-year colleges in Alabama, with 2 of the 3 garnering the top two spots.
Named by bestcolleges.com, Samford ranked No. 1 of the more than 80 collegiate institutions in the state for its “breadth of programs, intimate class sizes and high rate of graduate employment.” UM garnered the No. 2 spot for its affordable cost, 14 to 1 student-faculty ratio and “strong Christian values.”
The two colleges outranked bigger public universities such as Auburn University and the University of Alabama, which were ranked No. 3 and 7, respectively.
Judson was ranked No. 17 in the state for its “unique … focus on the education and social development of women through the tradition of Christian values.”
Alabama Baptist colleges also were recently recognized among top colleges for their online learning programs, an education trend that has steadily increased in popularity for more than a decade.
According to the 2015 Survey of Online Learning, 28 percent of students now take at least one distance education course. Additionally the number of distance education students increased 3.9 percent from 2014 to 2015, reported the survey conducted by Babson Survey Research Group.
In a ranking of best four-year, online colleges in Alabama by bestcolleges.com, UM ranked No. 5 and Judson ranked No. 8.
UM “offers a unique distance education program,” bestcolleges.com reported, and offers five degrees fully online as well as general education courses and electives.
Bestcolleges.com said Judson’s general education core program, which is offered online, is “one of the most comprehensive … in the state.” Online students may choose from more than 20 majors and minors and hundreds of courses.
Judson also garnered spots in the 2016 national rankings of Top 50 Online Christian Colleges and Universities and Best Online Christian Colleges from Christian Universities Online.
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