A recent report from the U.S. News & World Report was released that ranked several University of Iowa programs as top in the country.
The rankings included a total of nine online programs, with seven of the programs from the Tippie College of Business, one from the College of Education, and one from the College of Nursing.
Associate Dean for Faculty and Graduate Education at the College of Education Pamela Wesely attributes the Master of Arts in Teaching, Leadership, and Cultural Competency’s high ranking to the UI’s reputation, the quality of the instructors and courses, and the program’s areas of expertise options.
“We have some great areas of specialty in the College of Education, including assessment,” Wesely said. “We really are focusing on helping to train current teachers in those ways so that they are really successful.”
Wesely said the program is asynchronous and designed for in-service teachers to expand their skill sets and create high-quality learning environments. The program also addresses all students’ needs, including English language learners and those with disabilities.
In addition, Wesely shared that the College of Education is constantly updating its curriculum to include new tracks and specialties while also providing relevant and valuable education to teachers.
“We look very carefully at sort of all of the data to make sure that we’re meeting people’s needs, and I think that’s one reason why we’re ranked so high,” Wesely said.
Director Lindell Joseph of the Administration and Executive Leadership programs at the College of Nursing said the Master of Nursing program emphasizes leadership, data management, innovation, and population health.
“At the College of Nursing, we’ve always had a legacy of preparing nurse leaders,” Joseph said. “Students have the opportunity to have practicum experiences, and some of those practical experiences allow them to learn what it is to become an innovative leader or to expand their leadership capability.”
Joseph explained that the program has evolved to focus on population health while also aiming to meet contemporary health care needs, both in Iowa and nationally.
“We had paused the program for a little while,” Joseph said. “We decided to bring back the program because we knew the times our curriculum has evolved a bit because the environment has changed, and there’s now more innovation.”
The program is also undergoing a curriculum redesign process to include analysis, stakeholder and student feedback, and evolving needs. Joseph said this aids the College of Nursing to ensure the program stays relevant and consistent with standards.
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Ultimately, Joseph hopes this program will continue to stay strong and become a pipeline for further schooling.
“We see this program as a pipeline in terms of helping people to meet the expectations of today’s environment and a pathway for a future terminal degree in Health Systems Administration,” Joseph said.
Peggy Stover, director of the Marketing Institute at the Tippie College of Business, attributes the programs’ high rankings to the college’s forward-thinking approach, responsiveness to employer demands, and effective curriculum that prepares students for current and future job markets.
“I would say one basic difference is that it really forces a person to be extremely well-organized and to also be really good at online communication and being succinct about it,” Stover said.
Stover emphasized the importance of organization and communication in online courses while also highlighting the use of student feedback and career progression tracking to ensure program quality.
She mentioned Tippie’s integration of artificial intelligence into its curriculum enhances productivity without undermining critical thinking and creative problem-solving.
“I think there’s not one specific factor, but a combination of factors,” Stover said. “Tippie has done a wonderful, wonderful job of keeping a pulse on that and making sure that the curriculum across all the majors reflects that.”