CF makes prestigious list – Ocala

No 30, 'Best Colleges for Adult Education'

The College of Central Florida has been named one of the nations best colleges for nontraditional undergraduates,defined asstudents who have children and didnt immediately enroll in college after high school.

CF ranks No. 30 on the latest 50 Best Colleges for Adult Education list created by GreatValueColleges.net. The website used adult education data supplied by the National Center for Education and data from U.S. News & World Report. The editors of the website also searched each school's website and researched how many awards the institutions have won.

With more and more adult students entering and continuing college, its important that colleges and universities recognize that many of these older students are balancing full-time jobs, families and more, according to the Great Value Colleges report. Luckily, there are plenty of top ranking colleges and universities out there that put in the extra effort to accommodate adult and military students.

The report noted that many of these colleges offer affordable tuition, with a majority charging less than $15,000 to obtain degrees or certifications.

Researchers used U.S. News & World Report data to determine the 100 colleges and universities with the highest percentage of students older than 25. Great Value Colleges then selected the top 50 from that list by examining school performance in eight categories: affordability, bachelors degree programs, online degree programs, graduate degree programs, nontraditional student programs, student-faculty ratio, student retention, and academic awards and recognition.

We were particularly impressed by CFs flexible online and on-campus degree programs, said Gabrielle Kratsas, Great Value Colleges editor, in a statement released by CF.

CF President Jim Henningsen said in a statement that providing high-quality degrees and certificates is at the heart of the colleges mission.

Rankings like this affirm that we are succeeding and are a nice pat on the back, Henningsen noted. For me, however, the real affirmation comes when our graduates find employment and share how CF put them on the path to success.

CFs average price tag for its programs was $6,746 in 2015-16, according to the report. Last June, CF was ranked the 20th most affordable college in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The average age of a CF student is 27.3.

The Great Value Colleges site looked at what the National Center for Education Statistics defined as nontraditional undergraduates: students who delayed enrollment in postsecondary education by at least one year; students who have dependents other than a spouse, including those who are single parents; students who work full time while enrolled and are financially independent from their parents; and students who received a GED or other nonstandard high school certificate of completion.

The report noted that CF is among the most affordable and that it offers a variety of degree programs with flexible schedules for its adult learners.

Some of these are available completely online, like the bachelors degree in business and organizational management, bachelors degree in nursing, four associate degrees and 11 certificate programs, the report noted.

Besides those online courses, the website editors were impressed with CFs commitment to veterans and its online resources for students, including Career Coach to get students working in the field of their choice.

CF was the only Florida college or university to make the Top 50. CF scored 8 out of 16 possible points. The University of Alaska-Fairbanks was ranked No. 1 and was the only institution to score 16 out of 16.

Joe Callahan can be reached at joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeOcalaNews.

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CF makes prestigious list - Ocala