DAPHNE, Ala.  – “U.S. News & World Report” has ranked all of the United States Sports Academy’s bachelor’s degree programs among the top 10 online sports bachelor’s degrees in the nation for 2018.

The organization’s annual “Best Online Bachelor’s Programs” survey ranked the Academy’s bachelor’s degrees in Sports Management, Sports Coaching, Sports Studies, and Sports Strength & Conditioning among the top 10 online degrees of their type in the nation for 2018.

The annual survey ranks online bachelor’s degree programs based on student engagement, student services and technology, faculty credentials and training, and peer reputation.

“U.S. News believes online learning is becoming integral to all types of education, including higher education, and that consumers are hungry for information related to online degrees,” the organization’s website said.

“For working adults with some college credit, completing a four-year degree online may be the most practical way to obtain the knowledge and credentials needed to boost their careers.

“The vast majority of students enrolled in these ranked programs have earned at least some college credit. Rather than first-time college students, they are more likely to be working professionals in their 20s to 40s looking to advance in or change their careers.

“Ultimately, the Best Online Programs rankings measure whether online degree programs have academic standards commensurate with quality brick-and-mortar programs, properly adapted toward the unique pedagogy of distance education.”

Here is the “U.S. News & World Report” description of its assessment of online programs based on four general categories:

• Student engagement: Quality online bachelor’s degree programs promote participation in courses, allowing students opportunities to readily interact with their instructors and classmates, as is possible in a campus-based setting. In turn, instructors not only are accessible and responsive, but they also are tasked with helping to create an experience rewarding enough that students stay enrolled and complete their degrees in a reasonable amount of time.

• Student services and technology: Programs that incorporate diverse online learning technologies allow greater flexibility for students to take classes from a distance. Outside of classes, strong support structures provide learning assistance, career guidance and financial aid resources commensurate with quality campus-based programs.

• Faculty credentials and training: Strong online programs employ instructors with academic credentials that mirror those of instructors for campus-based programs, and they have the resources to train these instructors to teach distance learners.

• Peer reputation: A survey of high-ranking academic officials helps account for intangible factors affecting program quality that are not captured by statistics. Also, employers may hold in high regard degrees earned from programs that academics respect.

The rankings for the Academy’s sports bachelor’s degree programs were based on a detailed review of the U.S. News 2018 rankings of all online bachelor’s degree programs in the United States.  In that study, the Academy’s programs ranked 99th among all online bachelor’s degree programs in America, inclusive of all subject areas.

The United States Sports Academy was founded in 1972 and is the nation’s only freestanding accredited sports university. Known as “America’s Sports University®,” the Academy awards bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in sport and more than two-thirds of its alumni work in the sports industry. The Academy’s graduates are coaches, managers, teachers, administrators, entrepreneurs, healthcare providers, and researchers. They work at the professional, Olympic, collegiate, interscholastic, and recreational levels.

The Academy is fully online and students benefit from flexible rolling enrollment that allows them to progress in their studies at their own pace. In addition to a sports-specific academic experience with faculty educated in the sports field, Academy students participate in a mentorship with a sports employer that provides practical training that frequently leads to employment with the organization.