(North Canton, OH – Nov. 23, 2021) – Stark State College has been named among America’s Best Online Learning Schools for 2022.

The College’s online learning program, eStarkState, was included in Newsweek’s ranking of 150 outstanding online college and university programs, a list that includes prestigious two- and four-year schools across the nation.

“We’re proud to be recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s best online learning colleges,” said Dr. Lada Gibson-Shreve, the College’s provost and chief academic officer. “Stark State offers excellent online courses and programs that meet quality standards. We have engaged and experienced faculty members, support services for online students, high-quality curriculum, and an eStarkState team that provides excellent support for our online environment.”

Stark State offers nationally accredited online degrees, certificates and courses. For a complete listing, see www.starkstate.edu/estarkstate.

The rankings are based on an online survey among U.S. residents who have used online learning services to obtain an academic degree or acquire knowledge and skills for professional or personal development. The top lists were created through an elaborate process which carefully reviewed participants’ responses as well as the final selection of institutions in each list.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, as of 2019, the latest year for which figures are available, 79 percent of U.S. colleges offered either standalone courses or entire degree programs online. That figure included about 96 percent of all public two and four-year colleges. As of 2018, the Department estimated, about 7 million college students were taking some or all of their classes online. The pandemic has only added to the growth of online education. By one recent estimate, the number of students enrolled exclusively in online programs had jumped 93 percent from 2019 to 2020.