SALISBURY — Catawba College has been recognized as one of the best schools for online learning at the master’s level by OnlineMastersDegrees.org (OMD). Catawba’s programs earned top honors for overall quality, affordability, and commitment to student success. Just six percent of regionally accredited postsecondary institutions earned a ranking position.

Catawba ranked:

No. 3 – Best Online Master’s Degree in Mental Health Counseling

No. 3 Best Online MBA Degree Programs in North Carolina

No. 4 Most Affordable Online Master’s Degrees in Counseling

No. 10 Most Affordable Online MBA Degrees

“This year, we focused on the schools making it easier for students to compete in today’s increasingly difficult job market,” said Kyle Darland, co-founder of OMD. “Providing students with opportunities to get a master’s online is only part of our rankings. Top-ranked schools also had competitive tuition rates and/or scholarships to help drive costs down. And with grocery, gas, and other expenses on everyone’s mind right now, an affordable master’s is key.”

OnlineMastersDegrees.org analyzed more than 7,700 accredited universities by using data pulled from the schools themselves and from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). After the data was compiled, OMD’s data science team then applied a proprietary algorithm to rank all qualifying schools for each of the different master’s degrees specialties. Primary data points include:

• Academic counseling services
• Career placement services
• Student/faculty ratio
• Tuition
• Percent of students receiving school-based aid
• Amount of school-based aid per student

OnlineMastersDegrees.org began in 2020 to support online learning at the master’s level and is meant to help students find scholarships, resources, financial aid and connect with accredited colleges and universities across the country.