College Choice, a leading authority in college and university rankings and resources, has published its 2016 rankings for the Best Online Nurse Practitioner Programs.
Nurse practitioners is a growing field in the healthcare field, with many rural towns and cities employing them to take care of their population's primary care needs. But while there are more NPs now than ever before, still more are needed. And with that need comes the necessary job of finding the best online school to fit the needs of busy nursing professionals.
"The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the average salary of an NP is over $98,000 annually. As an NP you can diagnose and treat acute, episodic, or chronic illness. You have the opportunity to work with a diverse population and choose from an array of specialties, including neonatal, gerontological, pediatric, women's health, or family nursing," Christian Amondson, Managing Editor of College Choice, said when the ranking was released.
College Choice created the 2016 ranking for Best Online Nurse Practitioner Programs through factors that matter to working nurses. These include a school's academic reputation, tuition, time to completion, student retention, and online education features. These factors were researched by using a school's program website, the ranking site U.S. News and World Report, and independent statistical organizations like Payscale.com and the National Center for Educational Statistics.
The College Choice 2016 ranking for Best Online Nurse Practitioner Programs was topped by Ohio State University. It was followed by the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina.
The complete rankings are as follows:
Augusta University, Augusta, GA
Ball State University, Muncie, IN
Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Clarion, PA
Duke University, Durham, NC
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA
East Carolina University, Greenville, NC
Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY
Frontier Nursing University, Hyden, KY
George Washington University, Washington, DC
Georgetown University, Washington, DC
Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville, GA
Graceland University, Lamoni, IA
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
Rush University, Chicago, IL
Samford University, Birmingham, AL
St. Xavier University, Chicago, IL
Stony Brook University SUNY, Stony Brook, NY
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
University of Alabama Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO
University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
University of Missouri Kansas City, Kansas City, MO
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
University of Texas Medical Galveston, Galveston, TX
University of Texas Tyler, Tyler, TX
University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA