In a 2024 ranking compiled by Online Masters College, Eastern Michigan University was recognized for having one of the Top 10 best online graduate education programs.
Eastern also received acknowledgement for best Master's of Sociology online program, and best online Master's in Clinical Research.
To determine which programs receive awards, the Online Masters College uses an eight-component research process that is broken into 20 sub-factors to further analyze each university's data. The eight components are availability, affordability, delivery, curriculum, duration, statistics, employability and return on investment.
Online master’s programs allow adult learners returning to school to further their education while continuing busy lifestyles. EMU Professor Tana Bridge serves as a graduate faculty associate, assisting with day-to-day functions in the graduate programs. Bridge, who earned her doctorate degree at Wayne State University, has been teaching at Eastern for 28 years.
“Our online programs are kind of unique, because we've had some of our online programs literally for decades,” Bridge said. “And our goal is to remove barriers so that students can come and be successful in higher education.”
EMU offers fully asynchronous online courses that allow for a variety of choices when it comes to adult learners and how they learn best. Many graduate students who choose online pathways are likely to have full-time jobs, families and other commitments, so they benefit from asynchronous courses or classes in which they can work at their own pace.
However, feeling like part of the campus community can be difficult due to the asynchronous nature; in asynchronous classes, individual students work at their own pace and have little or no real time interaction with fellow students.
Christine Knaggs, the director of Online and Strategic Initiatives at Eastern, said the university takes extra steps to connect to online students. Knaggs, who earned her doctorate degree at the University of Toledo, and has been in education for more than 20 years.
“They still want to feel like they're part of a community, and supported," Knaggs said of online students. "EMU has, I've been very impressed at how good they are at that — making people feel like they're part of a community, that they're welcome, that they belong."
Knaggs joined the graduate team at EMU in September 2024. She manages the online program enrollment, recruitment and marketing.
Asynchronous courses can be designed to hold hundreds of students, and at some universities, they do. However, Eastern's classes don't get very big, Knaggs said.
"They're not massive lecture hall classes," Knaggs said. "It's the same for our fully online students. So, all of the faculty know every single student within their programs, and usually very, very well."
The smaller class sizes improve connections with professors and other students. The support from faculty and advisors are unmatched compared to other fully online universities, Knaggs said.
“Our fully online students get that same experience with connections, I feel, as our face-to-face students do, based on everything that I've seen. So, I think that makes a huge difference too,” Knaggs said.
The online graduate program at EMU continues to work on recruitment and optimizing web page searches to gain recognition through achievements and awards. Knaggs said she and her team are working to further build that connection to students and spread awareness of the different programs offered through the university’s online master’s program.
Editor's note: This article has been edited from its original post to correct the name of the organization that published the rankings, clarify Christine Knaggs' education history, and provide the right image.
