Indiana Wesleyan University was just recognized as one of this country's Best Online Christian Colleges for 2015 by the Affordable Colleges Foundation (ACF), a leading resource for online learning and college affordability information. IWU was ranked 15 out of 49 total colleges, universities and seminaries on the list.
"The faith-based colleges on our list are making online learning a clear priority," says Dan Schuessler, founder and CEO of Affordable Colleges Foundation. "Each of these Christian colleges incorporates innovative technologies to help students pursue their higher education, while providing a strong connection to spirituality." ACF cites the Department of Education as reporting that more than 900 faith-based institutions have received regional or national accreditation, meaning Christ-centered students have an abundance of high-quality choices when it comes to pursuing their higher education. IWU is honored to have received this level of national recognition.
To compile the list, ACF's data analysts and higher education experts developed a proprietary scoring system to rank the faith-based colleges using various cost, quality and student support metrics, including:
- Number of online programs available
- Online tuition cost
- Student-faculty ratio
- Six-year graduation rate
- Percent of student receiving financial aid
- Academic & career counseling services
- Placement services for graduates
All colleges on the list must also have clear and active religious affiliation, and offer full online programs at the bachelor's degree level. IWU offers over 80 degree programs from the associate to the doctoral level, many of which are available in a fully online format. In addition, IWU's Wesley Seminary was recently granted accreditation by The Association of Theological Schools, and offers a variety of theology degrees, available online, for Spanish-speaking students across the country.