How We Rank Online Cybersecurity Programs

Cost, 20%

The per-credit rate a non-resident online student pays, on a log scale between the 5th and 95th percentile of the degree level, lowest price scoring highest. Quarter credits are converted to semester credits first. A log scale means a $40 gap between two cheap programs counts for more than the same gap between two expensive ones, and small price differences do not swing a score.

• Uses the published online per-credit rate; in-state rates are shown but not scored
• When a school publishes no online rate, the out-of-state per-credit charge it reports to IPEDS is used instead
• Programs with neither score as if they cost more than most of their peers (the 25th percentile of the cost factor)
• Fees are noted on each review but not added to the rate

Graduate Earnings, 20%

Median earnings of the school's graduates in this field and at this degree level, four years after completion (or one year after, where that is the figure Scorecard publishes), from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Scored on a dollar scale between the 5th and 95th percentile of the degree level.

• Measured for this field at this school, not school-wide
• Scorecard withholds small graduating classes; those programs score at the peer median

Completion, 15%

IPEDS Outcome Measures: the share of students who entered as transfer students, full or part time, who earned a credential within eight years. These are the students online programs serve, so the figure fits online learners better than a first-time freshman graduation rate. Percentile inside the degree level.

• Covers transfer-in students, full and part time; for a school with no transfer figure, all entering students
• Online divisions that report to IPEDS on their own are measured on their own students
• Schools with no Outcome Measures data score at the peer median

Online Experience, 15%

The share of the school's students at this level (undergraduate or graduate) enrolled only in online courses, from IPEDS fall enrollment. Percentile inside the degree level.

• Undergraduate share for associate and bachelor's programs; graduate share for master's and doctoral programs
• A school that teaches most of its students online has built its services, advising and course design around them

Credential Alignment, 10%

ABET accreditation or an NSA CAE designation confirmed on the official list scores highest, then the same claims stated by the school, then named certification exams.

• ABET accredited or NSA CAE designated and confirmed on the official list: 10
• ABET or NSA CAE stated by the school but not matched on the official list: 8
• A specific exam alignment stated (Security+, CISSP, SSCP, CEH, CISM, GIAC): 7
• Other certification preparation stated: 5
• No credential alignment stated: 3

Track Record, 10%

IPEDS completions per year in this field and degree level, on a log scale between the 5th and 95th percentile of the level. Schools with no completions data score at the peer median.

• Completions are summed across the in-scope CIP codes at the level
• A log scale keeps very large programs from swamping small ones

Program Reputation, 10%

A reputation rating for each program on a five-step scale, from little-known to among the most recognized in the field. It is produced by a language model that reads the program's facts (degree, business or field accreditation, what the program page says) and what is publicly known about the school's standing in the field, one program at a time, the same way for every program. Percentile inside the degree level.

• Rated program by program, in the field, not for the school as a whole
• Each program is rated on its own, so the rating never depends on which programs it was compared with
• Programs that have not been rated score at the peer median

Each factor is scored on a 0 to 10 bar. The weighted total of those bars, times 10, is the Online Program Score, out of 100, to one decimal. It is an absolute score, not scaled to the top program, so no program reads 100 unless it is the best on every factor.

Programs are scored against other programs at the same level: bachelor's, master's, associate and doctoral.

The Missing-Input Rule

A factor with no published data for a program is scored at the peer median at full weight and is not displayed, so a program cannot rise in the ranking because a number is unpublished. Cost is stricter: an unpublished price scores at the 25th percentile, as if the program costs more than most.

The No-Price Rule

A program with no published price cannot outscore the best program that does publish one.

Tie-Breakers

Ties are broken by the overall score, then Cost, then Graduate Earnings, then program name.

Each factor score times its weight gives the points, and the points add up to the published score of 75.1 out of 100. Nothing is rescaled, so the score means the same thing on every list. Read the full Champlain College review.

247 of 247 programs carry an audit record. Each review lists the pages we verified and the date, under Sources.

Completion and Online Experience are school-wide IPEDS figures, so programs at one school share them; Graduate Earnings is measured for this field at each school. Track Record reflects how many students finish this field each year, not how good the program is. Prices are the published online rate; fees are noted on each review but not scored.

Credential Alignment depends on NSA CAE and ABET status. A claim we could not match to the official list counts at a lower tier and is labeled as stated by the school.