Online learning has been around for a very long time, but in recent years there has been a stronger focus on making the most of the flexibility and accessibility that such learning allows.
Particularly during the pandemic, many universities across the globe stepped up their online learning offerings to ensure that students could continue to access their classes.
But what does online learning mean? There isn’t really a standardised definition of online learning and its criteria. The meaning and the ensuing provision varies between institutions, different systems and countries.
Times Higher Education created this pilot ranking to start a conversation about online learning provision and to explore how different universities categorise and provide their classes and lectures online. This pilot ranking measures only the parts of universities that deliver online learning, which means those courses that are advertised as “online” and in which at least 40 per cent of the content is delivered online.
Rather than ranking universities with precise league table positions, universities are given a gold, silver or bronze categorisation. This is to reflect the fact that universities have different reasons for and methods of providing online teaching.
In this pilot edition, THE used 17 metrics grouped into four pillars: resources, engagement, outcomes and environment. Part of the data collection included a student survey that asked students a range of questions about their learning experience.
Online Learning Ranking 2024
Gold-rated universities
| University | Country/region | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| American University | US | Gold |
| Arizona State University (Tempe) | US | Gold |
| Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies | India | Gold |
| Massey University | New Zealand | Gold |
| O.P. Jindal Global University | India | Gold |
| University of Central Florida | US | Gold |
| University of Essex | UK | Gold |
| University of Liverpool | UK | Gold |
| University of South Australia | Australia | Gold |
| University of Szeged | Hungary | Gold |
Silver-rated universities
| University | Country/region | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| BINUS University | Indonesia | Silver |
| International University of Applied Sciences (IUBH) | Germany | Silver |
| King Abdulaziz University | Saudi Arabia | Silver |
| National Technical University Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute | Ukraine | Silver |
| Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais | Brazil | Silver |
| Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences | India | Silver |
| Sumy State University | Ukraine | Silver |
| Tecnológico de Monterrey | Mexico | Silver |
| UNIR – International University of La Rioja | Spain | Silver |
| Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Mexico (UAEMex) | Mexico | Silver |
| Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja | Ecuador | Silver |
| University of Guadalajara | Mexico | Silver |
| University of Santo Tomas | Philippines | Silver |
Bronze-rated universities
View the full ranking and analysis here
Editor’s note: As part of our THE statement on Ukraine published on 2 March 2022, Russian universities have been given less prominence in our rankings. Russian universities that met the criteria for this ranking are not displayed in the table above.
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