Month: January 2022

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Ball State Online Degrees Earn U.S. News “Best Online Programs” Designation

The U.S. News & World Report 2022 “Best Online Programs” rankings were released this morning. The rankings are exclusive to “degree-granting programs that are offered primarily online by regionally accredited institutions,” according to U.S. News. 

It comes as no surprise that Ball State Online performed well yet again. Many of Ball State University’s online degrees have consistently found their way onto the prestigious list since 2013.  

In addition to the main categories of bachelor’s degrees, graduate business degrees, graduate education degrees, graduate information technology degrees, graduate nursing degrees, and online programs for veterans, the University also achieved a few specialty rankings. Specialty rankings are ratings given by peer institutions. 

2022 Best Online Programs 

Bachelor’s Degrees

Ball State’s online bachelor’s degrees have remained in the top 50 since 2013. New to this 2022 list is the bachelor’s in applied behavior analysis (ABA) specialty ranking. 

Graduate Business Degrees

The master’s of business administration (MBA) category is one of the most competitive nationally. Ball State’s online MBA has received its ninth consecutive top-20 designation, which further establishes the program as a contender in the online MBA space, says Jason Webber, director of MBA and certificate programs. 

“There are three things that make the Ball State MBA stand out: affordability, flexibility, and accreditation. We remain highly competitive when it comes to the total cost. Courses are available completely online with multiple offerings. We also remain accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and in the U.S. News top 20,” says Webber.  

“When you consider those three reasons, along with not having a residency requirement and offering several concentrations – we place ourselves at the top of the list for many prospective students.” 

Graduate Education Degrees

Ball State has a long-standing reputation for exceptional educator preparation programs – having first been established as a teachers college – as well as a long history of national recognition for those programs. Ball State’s Teachers College is the largest preparer of educators and principals in Indiana, but it is also one of the largest schools of education in the nation.  

“We are very proud of all our programs in Teachers College, but certainly having nationally ranked online programs in all areas of educator preparation is a point of pride. Our graduate programs are rooted in practical experiences in the classroom, school, and community,” Teachers College faculty states.  

“Between our large number of graduates, the University Schools, and Muncie Community Schools partnership, Teachers College has strong ties in the field and our community. This allows us to keep up to date on issues that students in our undergraduate and graduate programs will be facing and allows them to learn what they need to know to hit the ground running after graduation.” 

Graduate Information Technology Degrees

Last year, in its first year of eligibility, the master’s in information and communication science (ICS) debuted on the U.S. News “Best Online Programs” rankings in the top 25. This year, it broke into the top 20. 

“This degree program will give anyone in any state access to diverse classmates from various industries, generations, levels of experience, and even geography. I don’t know of many master’s degrees that lead in industry credentials, established success, alumni engagement, and can be as affordable as we can,” says Anna Stumpf, online program coordinator for the master’s in ICS.  

“We have the Wall Street Journal’s designation as the ICS master’s with the quickest return on investment over any other in the nation. To have access to that with Ball State Online with such low in-state tuition is unprecedented.” 

Graduate Nursing Degrees

The University’s online master’s in nursing has remained a solid top-25 contender since 2014. 

“We are thrilled to maintain a top-20 ranking in the U.S. News ‘Best Online Programs’ for our exceptional master’s in nursing. This builds on a tradition of excellence in nursing at Ball State. We believe our program continues to earn recognition for its commitment to students by faculty who are excellent instructors and clinical experts. We keep class sizes low to afford personal attention by faculty to our online graduate students,” says Scott Rutledge, dean of the College of Health. 

“Now, more than ever, it is critical to support nursing professional development. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a much more publicly known need for nursing professionals. We welcome inquiries for admission and look forward to continuing to deliver a top-notch program.” 

Programs for Veterans

  • Master’s Degrees in Education Programs – 15th   
  • MBA – 22nd   

U.S. News & World Report also recognizes Ball State as a leader in reducing the cost of education for veterans through online programs. Highly ranked programs have strong traditional academic foundations based on student-instructor access, graduation rates, and instructor credentials. 

Visit Ball State Online’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to help spread the word about the new U.S. News & World Report rankings. 

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Graduate Nursing Student Battled COVID as Brand-New RN

In her first year as an RN, bachelor of nursing alumnus Sabrina Manahan confronted COVID-19 when she prepped a patient for the ventilator.

“I held his hand and cried with him as he said goodbye to his wife, not knowing if it would be his last,” says Sabrina, who is now in Ball State’s online master’s in nursing. “He made us promise to do everything possible to save him.”

These were the early days of the pandemic. Like other hospitals, her hospital was beginning to isolate cases with COVID from other patients.

Begins Search for Master’s Degree

Meanwhile, Sabrina was comparing graduate nursing programs.

Easy choice. Except for clinicals, her alma mater’s master’s in nursing was online. She knew the professors. She knew the staff. Class time and study time would fit around her work schedule. Online study decreased the risks of students spreading the virus among classmates. And she could pursue a concentration leading to a family nurse practitioner’s license.

“I chose this concentration so that I will be able to treat the general population rather than a smaller demographic in which I work with now,” she says, referring to her present position in ICU. “I have always wanted to work in a small family clinic.”

Treats COVID Patients Every Day

Today Sabrina works at IU Health Arnett Hospital in Lafayette, Indiana.

“I am working with COVID-positive patients on a daily basis, so it was nice that I’d not have to worry about time from school if I were to need tested—or if I were COVID-positive,” she says.

Treating COVID-positive patients isn’t quite as harrowing as it was during her first year as an RN, says Sabrina.

“To Others This Was Pure Terror”

“We had a whole floor designated for COVID patients, and every day you were randomly assigned to either work on the trauma unit or the COVID unit,” she says. “To some, this was no issue, but to others this was pure terror.”

Many nurses questioned giving COVID patient care when the risks were still unknown, says Sabrina. They watched experienced RNs cry when they huddled from fear and lack of information.

Nursing staff were receiving updated guidelines—daily—from the Centers for Disease Control or World Health Organization which triggered changes in procedures.

Constant Battle to Keep Up

“It seemed to be a constant battle with new surges of infection that we had to keep up with to make sure we had enough beds, supplies, and staff to manage the great increase in patients,” she says.

Sabrina was one of few who volunteered to work the COVID floor.

“I was able to volunteer with less fear than others because in the beginning it was mainly affecting people in their 40s and above,” she says. “I was only 24 years old so I figured it would be safer for me to go to our COVID unit than my coworkers in their 40s and 50s.”

Not that she’ll ever forget that first step inside a COVID patient’s room.

Says She Was Shaking as She Put on PPE

“I remember I was shaking as I put on my PPE,” says Sabrina, referring to the personal protective equipment worn by health-care workers. “It was a lot of stress knowing that if you didn’t wear everything correctly or take it off correctly that you could risk spreading or contracting the virus.”

“The most sobering aspect for me was having to hold up an iPad for family members to say goodbye to their loved ones,” says Sabrina. “I could never imagine not being able to be there with a loved one while they passed, and I was having people do it every day.  I still get angry thinking about it to this day.”

Pandemic Impact Considered in Grad Class 

The impact of the pandemic has found its way into her graduate classes, she says.

“We have discussed the pathophysiology of coronavirus and how it has impacted health care,” she says. “We discuss how the pandemic has greatly advanced telehealth and the way people access health care.”

Connie McIntosh, associate professor of nursing, learned Sabrina’s and other students’ stories when they were in her nursing information technology class. “Being able to balance graduate work with a full-time professional nursing role is not easy,” says Connie. “Being able to do it during a pandemic is heroic-like.”

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Gruver Helps Open World of Sustainable Resources to Online Students, Too

Early in his online Food Systems course, Josh Gruver, associate professor for Environmental, Geology, and Natural Resources, asks his students to step away from their laptops and go interview someone who functions as a link in the local food system.

From conversations with a chef, farmer, fisherman, food pantry manager, or truck driver, students learn where food is grown, produced, distributed, transported, and, most importantly, how it landed on their plates.

It’s not a typical assignment for online students, who pursue Ball State programs wherever they have an internet connection. But Ball State programs are not so typical.

Assignment for Local Involvement

Another assignment, which Josh requires of students in both his on-site and online classes, asks students to volunteer in a setting such as a soup kitchen, a food pantry, or a local farm.

“Students like this exercise. It gives them an appreciation of the day-to-day food work system that is continually in process,” says Josh, who teaches in the graduate certificate in sustainability program. “I thought online learning would inhibit my ability to help students learn by doing – but that turns out not to be the case.”

His passion for sustainable natural resource management, he says, was ignited during his Peace Corps experience in Papua New Guinea (PNG) nearly 30 years ago. He spent two years helping communities manage their resources – their forests, their fisheries, their clean water.

Peace Corps Lesson

That’s where he found a government that allowed large multi-national corporations from 1st world nations rob the country of resources such as timber, fish, and gold.

“The ocean waters there are teaming with tuna – but you can’t get tuna on the island. It’s been fished out by the Japanese,” says Gruver. “As a 24-year-old, it blew my mind and woke me up to the kinds of dehumanizing and ethically dubious things that happen in places like PNG.”

Realities such as this on the other side of the world is why Josh, in 2015, put together a local team of volunteers—students and colleagues—to create the Muncie Food Hub Partnership (MFHP) which today is, in his words, “still connecting area growers and eaters.”

Helping to Nourish Muncie

“Our mission is to nourish and strengthen the Muncie community through the robust exchange of fresh and affordable local food,” says Josh, director of the MFHP. “We are helping small-scale, diversified crop farmers sell more produce, and we’re helping residents who live in low food access areas connect with healthy fresh nutritiously dense foods.”

He says that at least two of his online students have visited MFHP and one is managing a farmers’ market in Yorktown, Indiana.

“My central goal as a scholar is to integrate knowledge produced at the university with local knowledge and experience to create working solutions toward natural resource-related issues.”

How He Buffed Up Online Teaching Skills

During the COVID-19 pandemic, his central goal was buffing up his online classroom skills with consultation from Ball State’s Online and Strategic Learning.

“They helped me go from never having taught an online course to putting one together that I am really proud of – with a very short timeline,” he says. “Learning how to develop and teach an online course really kicked up my course management system game.”

 

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TEACH Scholarship Making Degree Possible for Soanirina DeJong

After working as a certified nurse’s assistant, a front-desk receptionist, a Dairy Queen manager, and an instructor’s aide, Soanirina DeJong is on her way to a teaching career with the class she holds in highest regard.

Soanirina is lead teacher at a child care center in Lafayette, Ind., and enrolled in Ball State’s online bachelor’s in family and child: early childhood education.

Her work assisting in such classrooms has led to her prepare to teach early childhood. “I have always wanted to teach, but these experiences have reignited a passion to pursue teaching young children,” says Soanirina, a junior.

“We’re More than Glorified Babysitters”

She wonders why early early childhood teachers don’t get the credit that elementary and secondary grades teachers do. “In early childhood education, the typical thought is that we are nothing more than ‘glorified babysitters’ which is unfortunate,” she says. “Early childhood education is so much more.”

Soanirina earned her associate degree in early childhood from Ivy Tech in Lafayette through the TSAP (Transfer Single Articulation Pathway) program, which allows students to easily transfer into a corresponding bachelor’s degree at Ball State with junior-year status.

She also qualified for a Teacher Education and Compensation Helps (T.E.A.C.H.) scholarship which is available to early childhood professionals in Indiana. The scholarship covers most of the student’s tuition and costs for books.

Helped Her Transition to Lead Teacher

“T.E.A.C.H. made it possible for me to go back to school and pursue a career that I was passionate about,” says Soanirina, who, while pursuing the bachelor’s, has transitioned from a teacher’s aide position to hers as lead teacher.

Ball State is one of few public universities in Indiana offering an online bachelor’s degree in family and child: early childhood education.  For Soanirina, one benefit has been the opportunity to use tools and materials from the bachelor’s program in her current classroom.

Like many in the program, she works full time, while studying part time, taking two classes each term.

Says Discussion Board is a Listening Platform

One of her favorite online tools is the discussion boards. “The discussions boards really serve as a platform to ‘listen’ to other people’s experiences and their opinions on the current discussion or question,” she says.

Soanirina says she “talks regularly” with some of her online professors. “I always make it a point to ask questions when I do not understand something,” she says.

The feedback, says Soanirina, can be very reassuring. “This helps me gain confidence in myself and teaches me that educators and teaching professionals are always learners, too,” she says.

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