Albany Technical College recently ranked number five out of 82 schools in Georgia that offer online classes or degree programs for a 2016 study. Additionally, on a national scale, ATC ranks number 48 out of 2,868 schools in the study. The analysis was conducted by OnlineColleges.com, a website that provides information about top online colleges and degree programs.

Albany Technical College earned its high ranking partly due to the number of distance programs it offers, which ranked fifth among the schools ranked in Georgia. Students at Albany Technical College can choose from 29 distance education programs, which include associate degrees and diplomas in program fields such as accounting, business management and law enforcement, just to name a few. Additionally, the college offers 12 fully online certificate programs in subjects such as criminal justice, business and management.

Additionally, Albany Technical College ranked seventh in the state for its distance education participation rate.  The college received a perfect score for flexibility, which is great news for working students hoping to earn their degree online. Some of the factors included in the flexibility score include academic/career counseling services, electronic library resources and more.

To generate the ranking, OnlineColleges.com sourced data from the National Center for Education Statistics to evaluate schools on multiple criteria. These include the following:

• Number of programs offered via distance education

• Percentage of students participating in distance education classes

• Average in-state tuition for undergraduate and, if applicable, graduate students

• Average out-of-state tuition for undergraduate and, if applicable, graduate students

• Total electronic library collections, including digital books, databases and media

• Availability of academic/ career counseling services

• Availability of job placement services for graduates

• Whether the school offers dual credit

• Whether the school offers credit for life experience

• Whether the school offers advanced placement credit

• Whether the school offers credit for military training

In addition to viewing the schools with the highest overall score, prospective students can filter schools by tuition, school type, religious affiliation, military benefits and more. With OnlineColleges.com’s interactive ranking, students can produce a personalized list that ranks schools based on the qualities that are most important to them.