Southern Miss Named Most Affordable Online College in the United States

Over the past year, The University of Southern Mississippi has dedicated time and effort to further developing its online degree programs. These efforts have paid off with Affordable Colleges Online (ACO) recognizing Southern Miss as the best in the United States for its ability to bring academic excellence to online students with a more manageable price tag.

Online at Southern Miss offers academically rigorous, quality online degree programs that include support for students, even though they are not physically on campus. Fully online students can access numerous student success initiatives from online appointments with the Writing and Speaking Centers to 24/7 learning management system support.

“Bringing academic excellence to all students, including online students, is at the heart of our mission at Southern Miss,” said Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Dr. Amy Miller. “We work consistently to enhance programs and services to online students at Southern Miss, and we are appreciate the recognition from this organization for both our quality and exceptional affordability.”  

Since 2012, ACO has worked to make college more affordable by helping students and parents identify higher education opportunities, meeting both academic quality and financial needs. 

ACO is comprised of researchers and higher education experts who analyze data from every accredited postsecondary institution in the United States to identify the colleges with the lowest out-of-pocket costs that score high on academic rigor and support. According to ACO, the ranking includes student-to-faculty ratio, graduation rates, and count and breadth of online programs available.

Dr. Thomas Hutchinson, Interim Director of the Office of Online Learning, says earning the top ranking in the nation is recognition of efforts of the entire campus community.

“Administration, faculty and staff have been collaborating to offer high quality programs and courses that equip our students with the skills to be successful,” said Hutchinson. “We are pleased Affordable Colleges Online recognizes our efforts.”

The University of Southern Mississippi offers nine undergraduate degrees and twenty-one graduate programs fully online. To learn more about the online programs at Southern Miss, visit https://online.usm.edu/

To see the complete list of colleges and universities ranked by Affordable Colleges Online, visit: http://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/cheap-online-colleges/