Top 20 Best Online Schools in New Jersey

Continuing our series of best online college by state rankings, we have examined all online colleges in New Jersey and chosen to showcase the top 20 schools, based on the methodology stated below.

For this top 20 college and university ranking, we have evaluated all of the schools that offer online academic programs to distance-learning students located within the state of New Jersey.

Each of the New Jersey-based online colleges that we investigated was scored on a scale from 1 to 200, with 2 being the lowest possible combined score and 200 being the highest possible combined score. We then placed the 20 schools that we determined to be the best in ascending order of their final scores. Each school on this list has impressive accolades, excellent scores, and they all provide programs for online students.

Methodology

We have ranked all of the schools that are located in New Jersey and which offer online academic programs based on the following ranking criteria:

• 50%: Freshmen Retention Rates and;
• 50%: Graduation Rates

In order to gather the information that was required to rank each school based on the described methodology, we have utilized each school’s website whenever possible to get the two rates that we were looking for. In instances that this information was unavailable or incomplete directly from the school’s own website, we used the databases of both U.S. News and World Report and of National Center for Education Statistics. In cases where two or more schools were tied for a spot on this Top 20, we used the alphabetical ordering of their names as our designated tie-breaking criteria.

We also consulted our own ranking of the top 100 best online colleges when ranking these colleges.

20: College of St. Elizabeth

The College of St. Elizabeth is a private, not-for-profit and Roman Catholic-affiliated four-year liberal arts college which is located in Morristown, New Jersey. CSE–which is what the College of St. Elizabeth is commonly referred to as–was originally established in 1899 by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, which is a Roman Catholic apostolic congregation. The College of St. Elizabeth was one of the first Catholic colleges located within the United States to award degrees to women. The college is named for Elizabeth Ann Seton who founded the Sisters of Charity and who, after her death in 1821, was canonized (in 1975) by Pope Paul VI as the United States’ first native-born saint. The College of St. Elizabeth has numerous undergraduate degree-granting programs, graduate degree-granting programs and professional certification programs available from which students can choose. Many of the programs that are also available in an online and fully asynchronous format and are taught by the same dedicated academic faculty as the on-campus program counterparts, ensuring that students–both traditional on-campus and distance learning students–will receive the individualized attention that they need and deserve. The College of St. Elizabeth’s academic faculty can provide the amount of attention to each student due to the college’s lower-than-average student-to-faculty ratio. Some of the college’s available online programs include: an AS to BS in Accounting degree program, a Dual BS or BA and MS in Management degree program, a MA in Justice Administration and Public Service degree program and a MA in Theology degree program.

School’s Website: https://www.cse.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 68.0%
Graduation Rate: 38.0%
Final Score: 106.0/200

19: Rutgers University–Camden Campus

Rutgers University–Camden Campus is one of three regional campuses of the Rutgers University school system. Rutgers University–Camden is a public research university which is located in Camden, New Jersey and which was originally established as the South Jersey Law School and the College of South Jersey in 1766. The year of 1950 saw these two schools merge with Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey becoming the Camden extension campus of the school. Rutgers–Camden is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) and, today, provides students with a selection of nearly 40 majors and 50 minors in addition to various graduate degree programs, certification programs, and advanced professional programs to choose from. Many of these programs are also available in an online and asynchronous format, to cater to the school’s many distance learning students. More than 6,000 students are enrolled annually at Rutgers–Camden and the university has an academic staff of approximately 250, giving the school a student-to-faculty ratio of 24:1. This student-to-faculty ratio means Rutgers–Camden has a comparatively smaller class size, allowing students to get a more hands-on education that is more personally tailored to each student. Due to this–and due to the numerous online academic programs which are taught by the same academic staff as the on-campus counterparts–students at Rutgers–Camden are able to obtain a highly comprehensive, dynamic and flexible education.

School’s Website: https://www.camden.rutgers.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 82.0%
Graduation Rate: 26.0%
Final Score: 108.0/200

18: New Jersey Institute of Technology

The New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public sea-grant research university which is located in Newark, New Jersey. NJIT (as the school is known colloquially) was originally established in 1881 through a combined effort of the Newark Board of Trade, the Newark City Council and numerous of the area’s local businessmen and private citizens. The newly created school was known as the Newark Technical School. The institution’s name would later be changed to Newark College of Engineering in 1930 and again to its present-day name in 1975. NJIT has a wide variety of on-campus and online academic programs for students to choose from. Two such online programs offered by NJIT is their highly popular MS in Electrical Engineering degree program and their MS in Civil Engineering degree program, both of which helped NJIT’s Engineering school to be ranked favorably in one of U.S. News and World Report‘sBest Grad School for Engineering ranking. NJIT was also once ranked as one of the Princeton Review’s top 50 best-value public college. And it was ranked as the top payer of academic professors in the nation once by the The New York Times. This is just a small sampling of the accolades that NJIT have received over the years.

School’s Website: https://www.njit.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 85.0%
Graduation Rate: 24.0%
Final Score: 109.0/200

17: Georgian Court University

Georgian Court University is a private, not-for-profit and Roman Catholic-affiliated liberal arts university which is located in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. Georgian Court was originally established in 1908 by the Sisters of Mercy, an international religious order comprised of Catholic women who have vowed to serve people who suffer from poverty, sickness and a lack of education particularly in regards to women and children. Georgian Court was recognized with university status by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education in 2004 and, after more than 100 years of operating as a women’s only institute of higher education, the university became fully coeducational in 2013. Georgian Court is comprised of three academic schools: the School of Arts and Sciences; the School of Business and Digital Media and the School of Education. Through these schools, more than 33 undergraduate majors are available for the more than 2,000 total enrolled students to choose from; and some of these programs are also available online, such as the university’s Master of Arts (MA) in Holistic Medicine degree program. In addition to the Lakewood Township campus, GCU also offers various academic courses at their Hazlet Campus location as well as the Wall Township Campus. Georgian Court is the only Roman Catholic-affiliated college or university which is located in the central or south areas of the State of New Jersey.

School’s Website: https://georgian.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 73.0%
Graduation Rate: 37.0%
Final Score: 110.0/200

16: Caldwell University

Having been originally established in 1939 by the Sisters of St. Dominic and originally known as the Caldwell College for Women, Caldwell University today is a private, not-for-profit Roman Catholic (Dominican)-affiliated liberal arts university which is located in Caldwell, New Jersey. Caldwell College for Women was founded in the Dominican tradition, which is to spread the Gospel and oppose heresy, the college was a women’s only academy before later becoming a coeducational university. The present-day university still places an adamant emphasis on the tenets of the Roman Catholic faith, instilling and reaffirming in attending students the values of critical thinking, the pursuit of truth and to making contributions to a just society all in the name of the Lord. Caldwell University shares the land that its campus is located on with the Sisters of St. Dominic’s Caldwell convent and with Mount Saint Dominic Academy, an all-girls Catholic high school. Additionally, the Sisters of St. Dominic also operate Saint Dominic Academy in nearby Jersey City, New Jersey. Caldwell offers more than 1,000 total enrolled students a selection of undergraduate, graduate, and certification programs. Some of which (more than 20 in total, in fact) are available to distance learning student in an online and asynchronous format, such as their Master of Arts (MA) in Educational Administration degree program. Caldwell has ranked as a Tier 1 institution in a U.S. News & World Report‘s “Best Colleges ranking and Caldwell is a member of the United States Distance Learning Association (USDLA).

School’s Website: https://www.caldwell.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 80.0%
Graduation Rate: 31.0%
Final Score: 111.0/200

15: Saint Peter’s University

Saint Peter’s University is a private, not-for-profit and Jesuit Roman Catholic-affiliated liberal arts university which is located in Jersey City, New Jersey. Saint Peter’s University was originally established in 1872 by the Society of Jesus and was initially known as Saint Peter’s College. Saint Peter’s University closed in 1918 due to a decline in student enrollment brought about by World War I. Although World War I ended just two months after the university closed, it took 12 years before the school reopened in 1930. Even though women had been admitted to the school’s available evening program in 1930 and a group of 35 female students had been admitted during World War II to address the university’s financial difficulties, the school was originally a men’s only institute, and it didn’t become fully coeducational until 1966. In addition to the university’s main campus in Jersey City, Saint Peter’s also operates a satellite campus in St. Michael’s Villa (opened in 1975) and an extension at South Amboy’s Cardinal McCarrick High School (opened in 2003). Saint Peter’s University was named after Saint Peter, one of Jesus Christ’s apostles and, today, is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU). Saint Peter’s University offers over 60 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 3,000 total enrolled students; many of these programs are also available in an online and asynchronous format. In 2015, Saint Peter’s was ranked as a top university nationwide by Money magazine in the category of “Colleges That Add the Most Value.” One of U.S. News & World Report‘s Best Colleges guides ranked the institution among the top 100 universities in the Regional Universities for the North region of the United States.

School’s Website: https://www.saintpeters.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 79.0%
Graduation Rate: 36.0%
Final Score: 115.0/200

14: Montclair State University

Montclair State University is a public Doctoral research university which is located in Montclair, New Jersey. MSU–as the university is commonly referred to as–was originally established in 1908 as the New Jersey State Normal School at Montclair, a teacher’s school. The name was changed to Montclair State Teachers College in 1927. In in 1958, Montclair State Teachers College merged with Panzer College of Physical Education and Hygiene to become Montclair State College. Finally, in 1994 the school’s name was changed a final time to Montclair State University. Montclair State University comprises four colleges and three schools: the College of the Arts; the College of Education and Human Services; the College of Humanities and Social Sciences; the College of Science and Mathematics; the Feliciano School of Business; the School of Nursing and the Graduate School. Through these, more than 20,000 total enrolled students are able to choose from a wide variety of undergraduate degree-granting programs, graduate degree-granting programs, and professional certificate-granting programs. Many of the university’s academic programs are also available in an online and asynchronous format to serve distance learning students and to provide a greater amount of academic flexibility. Over the years, Montclair State University has produced many notable alumni, including Lesley Choyce (celebrated author), Reginald “Reggie” Noble (Rapper; stage name Redman) and Bruce Willis (a two-time Emmy Award winning and a two-time Golden Globe Award-winning actor, singer, and producer) among many others. Montclair is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) and, in the accreditor’s 2012 reaffirmation of the university’s accreditation, commended the institution for their “comprehensive learning assessment system, proactive engagement with the challenges of technology and their ambitious strategic plan’s quantifiable end goal.”

School’s Website: https://www.montclair.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 83.0%
Graduation Rate: 36.0%
Final Score: 119.0/200

13: Rutgers University–Newark Campus

Rutgers University–Newark Campus is one of three regional campuses in operation under the Rutgers University school system. Rutgers University–Newark is a public research university which is located in Newark, New Jersey. Rutgers–Newark was originally established in 1946 when the New Jersey State Legislature voted to make the University of Newark a part of Rutgers University system. Rutgers–Newark can, however, trace its roots all the way back to 1908 when the New Jersey Law School was first established. That law school, along with four other educational institutions in Newark (Dana College; the Newark Institute of Arts & Sciences; the Seth Boyden School of Business and; the Mercer Beasley School of Law) formed a series of alliances over the years. A final merger between the allied schools in 1936 resulted in the creation of the University of Newark. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education classifies Rutgers Newark as being a Research University with a High Research Activity rating. The university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) and Rutgers–Newark has received many accolades over the years from various reputable publications. U.S. News & World Report has ranked Rutgers Newark as one of the “Top Public Schools” among National Universities and the Rutgers School of Law–Newark has been ranked as a “Tier 1” school by the same publication. Money magazine once ranked Rutgers–Newark as the 9th best for a college or university that provides students with the most value and with the best return-on-investment (ROI).

School’s Website: https://www.newark.rutgers.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 86.0%
Graduation Rate: 33.0%
Final Score: 119.0/200

12: Rowan University

As a public research university which offers various online programs such as a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Law and Justice degree program, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology degree program, a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Business Administration degree program and a Learning Disabilities Certificate of Graduate Study program to distance learning students, Rowan University makes an effort to ensure all of the 15,000 total enrolled students have flexible and high-quality academic programs available for them to choose from; both on-campus and online. Rowan University offers more than 30 academic programs online in total and much more on-campus. These programs cover a wide variety of different areas-of-study, and there are programs available at the undergraduate, graduate and certification levels. Rowan University is located in Glassboro, New Jersey and was originally established in 1923 as the Glassboro Normal School. Later name changes would be the New Jersey State Teachers College at Glassboro (1937 ñ 1958); the Glassboro State College (1958 ñ 1992); the Rowan College of New Jersey (1992 ñ 1997) and Rowan University (1997 ñ Present Day). Rowan University, in addition to its main campus, also operates a satellite location in Camden, New Jersey. In 2012, the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (which became the university’s School of Osteopathic Medicine one year later in 2013) was established, making it the first public medical school in New Jersey not to be associated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. There are more than 100 student-ran clubs and organizations at Rowan University; along with a very active Greek life which is comprised of 20 fraternities and 12 sororities in total.

School’s Website: https://www.rowan.edu/home/
Freshman Retention Rate: 84.0%
Graduation Rate: 43.0%
Final Score: 127.0/200

11: Fairleigh Dickinson University–Metropolitan Campus

Fairleigh Dickinson University–Metropolitan Campus is one of four campuses that are operated by Fairleigh Dickinson University, which is a private, not-for-profit and nonsectarian liberal arts university. Fairleigh Dickinson University operates two campuses in the State of New Jersey (Teaneck and Madison), one campus (Wroxton College) in Banbury, Oxfordshire, England and the Vancouver Campus which operates in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Fairleigh Dickinson University–Metropolitan Campus is located in Teaneck, New Jersey and was originally established in 1942. Fairleigh Dickinson University–which is commonly referred to simply as FDU–is New Jersey’s largest private institution of higher education based on student enrollment size; with more than 12,000 total enrolled students. The undergraduate studies at the Metropolitan campus are offered through three separate colleges: the University College; the Silberman College of Business and; the Petrocelli College of Continuing Studies. Through these three colleges, FDU provides students with a diverse selection of undergraduate degree-granting and certificate-granting programs which span a variety of different areas-of-study, both online and on-campus. FDU has a very active Greek Letter life on-campus, with eight fraternities, eight sororities, and ten Greek Honor Societies being present. Additionally, there are numerous student-ran clubs and organizations for a variety of different academic and social purposes which are also active on-campus. Fairleigh Dickinson’s Silberman College of Business has been ranked as one of the top 295 business schools in the country by The Princeton Review. The university has also been recognized as an “Excellent Business School” according to a Eduniversal (a French-based ranking and consulting company for higher education).

School’s Website: https://www.fdu.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 76.0%
Graduation Rate: 55.7%
Final Score: 131.7/200

10: Stevens Institute of Technology

School Profile
Stevens Institute of Technology (which is commonly referred to simply as SIT) is a private, not-for-profit research university which is located in Hoboken, New Jersey. Stevens Institute of Technology was originally established in 1870 by Edwin Augustus Stevens (1795 ñ 1868), an American entrepreneur, engineer, and inventor. Due to being created nearly 150 years ago, SIT is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States, and the institute is the very first college located in America which was solely dedicated to the study of mechanical engineering. The university is home to three national Centers of Excellence as designated by the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of Homeland Security: the National Center for Secure and Resilient (CSR) Maritime Commerce; the National Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) and; the Atlantic Center for the Innovative Design and Control of Small Ships (ACCESS). Stevens is also home to the Center for the Advancement of Secure Systems and Information Assurance (CASSIA) which is dedicated to advancements in the area of cybersecurity. The Center for Maritime Systems at Stevens is one of only two designated International Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks in the United States, making it highly reputable.

School’s Website: https://www.stevens.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 94.0%
Graduation Rate: 38.0%
Final Score: 132.0/200

9: Centenary University of New Jersey

Centenary University of New Jersey is a private, not-for-profit liberal arts university which is located in Hackettstown, New Jersey. Centenary University of New Jersey was originally established as the Centenary Collegiate Institute by the Newark Methodist Episcopal Church–notably Jonathan Townley Crane, an American clergyman, author, and abolitionist–in 1867. Over the years, Centenary has evolved from a coeducational preparatory school to a girls’ only preparatory school in 1910; to a women’s only junior college in 1940; to a four-year women’s only college in 1976; to a coeducational four-year college in 1988. In 1995, it evolved into its present-day incarnation, a coeducational university which is capable of bestowing upon eligible students a Master’s degree. Centenary was the first college in the State of New Jersey to require service education–a style of experiential learning–as a condition of graduation. Centenary University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), a regional institutional accrediting agency which is recognized by the United States Department of Education and by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Centenary also holds programmatic accreditation by the National Association of State Directors for Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC), the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), and the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). Slightly more than 1,700 total enrolled students are taught by an academic staff of around 73, giving Centenary a student-to-faculty ratio of about 23:1.

School’s Website: https://www.centenaryuniversity.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 76.0%
Graduation Rate: 58.0%
Final Score: 134.0/200

8: Fairleigh Dickinson University–College at Florham

Fairleigh Dickinson University–College at Florham is the second Fairleigh Dickinson University campus located in the State of New Jersey. The school is located in the city of Florham. Interestingly, this campus was originally established in the year of 1958 on the site of the former estate of Hamilton McKown Twombly (an American businessman) and his wife Florence Adele Vanderbilt Twombly (an American heiress and member of the preeminent and incredibly wealthy railroad tycoon family, the Vanderbilts). The Florham Campus was acquired by Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1958 from the Esso Research and Engineering Company (the American trade name for ExxonMobil). The purchase of the Twombly-Vanderbilt estate included a total of 187-acres of land, the Twombly-Vanderbilt mansion and related buildings. The Twombly-Vanderbilt estate is now known as Hennessy Hall and serves to provide the campus’ students with meeting areas and as a place to host special university and student events. The landscape for Hennessy Hall and the other related buildings was provided by Frederick Law Olmsted, a highly prominent American landscape artist who is considered by many in the field to be the father of American Landscape Architecture. Olmsted has additionally designed numerous other famous landmarks, such as Central Park in New York, the landscape surrounding the United States Capitol and the landscaping for many of America’s oldest and finest institutions of higher learning. Fairleigh Dickinson University–College at Florham provides its students–both traditional on-campus students and distance learning students–with a selection of many different undergraduate degree-granting programs, graduate degree-granting programs and certification programs which span across many different areas-of-study.

School’s Website: https://view2.fdu.edu/campuses-and-centers/florham-campus/
Freshman Retention Rate: 82.0%
Graduation Rate: 53.0%
Final Score: 135.0/200

7: Seton Hall University

A Master of Arts (MA) and Educational Specialist (Ed.S) in Education Leadership, Management and Policy degree program, a Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN) degree program, a Master of Arts (MA) in Police Graduate Studies degree program and a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) in Pediatric Primary and Acute Care Nurse Practitioner degree program are some examples of the numerous online academic programs that Seton Hall University offers to its distance learning students which make up a portion of the university’s more than 11,000 total enrolled students. Seton Hall University is located in South Orange, New Jersey and is a private, not-for-profit, Roman Catholic-affiliated sea-grant research university. SHU, as the university is commonly referred, was originally established in 1856 by James Roosevelt Bayley (1814 ñ 1877), an American prelate of the Catholic Church, the first Bishop of Newark (1853 ñ 1872) and the eighth Archbishop of Baltimore (1872 ñ 1877). SHU was named after Bayley’s aunt Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774 ñ 1821) who was canonized in 1975 by Pope Paul VI and who is the Patron Saint of Catholic Schools; Shreveport, Louisiana and; the State of Maryland. Seton Hall University is the oldest diocesan institute of higher learning which is located within the United States. Seton Hall consists of 11 schools and colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences; the Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology; the College of Education and Human Services; the College of Nursing; the W. Paul Stillman School of Business; the School of Law; the
School of Health and Medical Sciences; the Division of Continuing Education and Professional Studies; the School of Diplomacy and International Relations; the College of Communication and the Arts and; the School of Medicine. Through these 11 schools and colleges, SHU’s more than 10,000 total enrolled students are able to enroll in either an undergraduate degree program, a graduate degree program, or a certification program with more than 70 different areas-of-study being represented. Many of the school’s academic programs which are available on-campus also have an online counterpart which is taught by the same teaching staff. These online programs include the programs that were listed at the beginning of this particular rank among many others.

School’s Website: https://www.shu.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 85.0%
Graduation Rate: 51.0%
Final Score: 136.0/200

6: Rider University

Rider University is a private, not-for-profit and nonsectarian liberal arts university which is located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey and which was originally established in 1865 by Henry Beadman Bryant, Henry Stratton–the operators of the Bryant and Stratton chain of private business schools–and William Whitney. When it was first established, the institute was known as The Trenton Business College and was initially located in Trenton, New Jersey. In 1896 the school allowed women to enroll, changing into a coeducational institute, and in 1897 the school was renamed The Rider Business College after the first and current president of the college, Andrew J. Rider. The name change had occurred a year before President Rider stepped down as president. Supposedly the school’s name isn’t the only thing Andrew Rider was honored with; according to folklore the school’s colors–Cranberry and Gray–were chosen because Rider owned 500-acres of cranberry bogs near Hammonton, New Jersey. In 1921, the college moved to Trenton and officially changed its name to Rider College. In 1922 the New Jersey Board of Education granted Rider College permission to confer upon eligible students a Bachelor of Accountancy degree and a Bachelor of Commercial Science degree upon successful program completion. In 1959, Rider College moved once more to its present-day location in Lawrence Township. Rider College merged with the nearby Westminster Choir College (established 1926 and located in Princeton) during the 1991 ñ 1992 academic school year. The campus of Westminster Choir College became the Princeton campus of Rider College afterward. The name was changed a final time in 1994 to Rider University. U.S. News and World Report once ranked Rider University as one of the “Top Regional Universities” in the North Region category.

School’s Website: https://www.rider.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 81.0%
Graduation Rate: 63.2%
Final Score: 144.2/200

5: Ramapo College of New Jersey

The Ramapo College of New Jersey is a public, four-year liberal arts college which is located in Mahwah, New Jersey, near the Ramapo Mountains; a forested chain of the Appalachian Mountains in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York which ranges in height from 900 feet up to 1,200 feet. The Ramapo College of New Jersey was originally established in 1969 on the site of the former Birch Estate; the last home of Stephen Birch (1872 ñ 1940), a highly renowned businessman that served as the President of the Kennecott Copper Company from 1915 until 1933. Under Birch’s presidency, the Kennecott Copper Company experienced tremendous growth. The company had 450 employees and made $11 million in sales in 1915 when Birch started. The year that Birch resigned, the company employed 28,872 total individuals and had sales more than $177,250,000 USD. The purchase of the Birch Estate cost approximately 27% of the total amount of money that the Department of Higher Education had set aside for what would become Ramapo College of New Jersey. $4,000,000 USD out of $15,000,000 USD total was used; a little over $3,000,000 went to the purchase of the land–nearly $10,000 per acre. Additionally, approximately $1,000,000 was used to make various improvements and upgrades to the land and various pre-existing buildings). Today, Ramapo is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSCHE) and has been continuously accredited by them since the college first received an MSCHE accreditation in 1975. Ramapo provides its more than 6,000 attending students with a selection of undergraduate degree programs, graduate degree programs, and certification programs; many of which are available to distance learning students in an online and asynchronous format.

School’s Website: https://www.ramapo.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 88.0%
Graduation Rate: 60.0%
Final Score: 148.0/200

4: Rutgers University–New Brunswick Campus

Rutgers University–New Brunswick Campus is one of three regional campuses which comprise the Rutgers University school system. Rutgers–New Brunswick is located in New Brunswick, New Jersey and is the oldest campus of Rutgers University. The New Brunswick campus is comprised of 19 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. These 19 schools are: the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy; the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy; the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology; the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; the Graduate School of Education; the Mason Gross School of the Arts; the Rutgers Business School School of Arts and Sciences; the School of Health Related Professions; the School of Communication and Information; the School of Engineering; the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences; the School of Management and Labor Relations; the School of Nursing; the School of Public Health and; the School of Social Work. Through these 19 schools, more than 40,000 total enrolled students are seeking either an undergraduate degree, a graduate degree, a professional certification, or are taking for-credit classes but are not seeking a degree. Many of the degree programs, certification programs, and stand-alone for-credit courses are available to distance learning students by being offered in a fully online and asynchronous format. Rutgers–New Brunswick has been ranked among the best universities or colleges in the world by U.S. News and World Report‘s global ranking. Washington Monthly–a bi-monthly not-for-profit magazine that deals with United States politics, government and higher education–once ranked the university as one of the best in the nation.

School’s Website: https://newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 92.0%
Graduation Rate: 58.0%
Final Score: 150.0/200

3: Monmouth University

Monmouth University is a private, not-for-profit four-year liberal arts university which is located in West Long Branch, New Jersey; a borough of Monmouth County. Monmouth University was originally established in the year 1933 as the Monmouth Junior College. In 1956, the junior college was renamed to Monmouth College. Monmouth College received its University Charter from the State of New Jersey in 1995 and was redesignated a final time to Monmouth University to accurately reflect the fact that the school was now able to confer upon eligible students a graduate degree upon successful completion of a graduate program. Monmouth University’s student-to-faculty ratio is approximately 10:1; with more than 6,000 total enrolled students and with an academic staff totaling more than 600 members. This very low student-to-faculty ratio that the university boasts means Monmouth University can provide each of its students with a highly personalized education which is provided by the university’s highly dedicated, qualified and caring academic staff. More than 80% of the university’s academic staff hold a Doctoral degree or a similar terminal degree in each of their respective fields. This dynamic staff is the same staff that teaches Monmouth University’s various online academic programs, such as their Forensic Nursing certificate program and their Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree program. These programs are just a few of the many fully online and asynchronous degree and certificate programs that are available in which students can enroll. Monmouth University is organized into seven schools–the Wayne D. McMurray School of Humanities and Social Sciences; the School of Education; the Leon Hess Business School; the School of Social Work; the School of Science; the Marjorie K. Unterberg School of Nursing and Health Studies and; the Honors School. It is through one or more of these seven schools that both traditional on-campus students and distance learning students are able to obtain an undergraduate degree, a graduate degree or a professional certification. The offered academic programs all span across numerous areas-of-study, providing enrolled students with an even more flexible education.

School’s Website: https://www.monmouth.edu/university.aspx
Freshman Retention Rate: 84.0%
Graduation Rate: 67.0%
Final Score: 151.0/200

2: Stockton University

Situated in Galloway Township–a township which itself is located in Atlantic City, New Jersey–Stockton University is a public, four-year liberal arts university. Stockton University was originally established in 1968 as the South Jersey State College. The university’s name would later in the same year be changed to Stockton State College to avoid being confused with Rutgers College of South Jersey, the Camden, New Jersey campus of what is now the Rutgers University school system. In 1993, the name was changed again, this time to Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. And Richard Stockton College of New Jersey underwent one final name change in 2015 to its present-day name of Stockton University when it received its University Charter from the State of New Jersey. This allowed the school to confer upon eligible students a Master’s degree, a Doctoral degree or a graduate-level certificate upon successful completion of an offered graduate program. Stockton offers to its more than 8,000 total enrolled students a variety of undergraduate degree-granting programs, graduate degree-granting programs and certification programs from which to choose from. Many of Stockton’s available for-credit courses are also available in an online and asynchronous format, such as the university’s Accounting I for-credit course or their First Line Supervision and Leadership for-credit course. The university is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSCHE) and has been continuously accredited through this regional accrediting body since obtaining their initial accreditation from them in 1975. Stockton University has a very active Greek organization life present on-campus; with 13 fraternities, 13 sororities and one co-ed service fraternity–Alpha Phi Omega (?FO); which is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States–having a strong presence at the university. Stockton University, additionally, is home to numerous student-ran organizations and clubs, which span across varying social, philanthropic, professional and academic areas-of-interest.

School’s Website: https://stockton.edu/
Freshman Retention Rate: 86.0%
Graduation Rate: 73.0%
Final Score: 159.0/200

1: Princeton University

Princeton University has been ranked in the top spot in our Top 20 Best Online Schools in New Jersey Ranking due to the university’s astounding freshman retention rate (at a solid 98%) and the university’s stellar graduation rate (with 96.8% of Princeton students graduating promptly). Princeton University is the epitome of a New Jersey-based high-calibre provider of higher education. Many circumstances have culminated in giving Princeton University these highly desirable rates, and by exploring the university’s past, present, and projected future, we will be able to shed some light on why Princeton has the rates it does. Princeton University is a private, not-for-profit Ivy League research university which is located in Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton University was originally founded in 1746, making it the fourth chartered institution of higher education in the Thirteen Colonies and, thus, one of the nine original Colonial Colleges which were established before the American Revolution. The only Colonial Colleges which were established before Princeton University are: Yale University (1701), The College of William and Mary (1693) and Harvard University (1636). Princeton University, upon its initial opening, was located in Elizabeth, New Jersey and was known as the College of New Jersey. The university would move to Newark in 1747, and then again to its current site in 1756. It would be later renamed to Princeton University in 1896. The university has a myriad of undergraduate degrees, graduate degree and professional certification programs that students–both traditional on-campus and distance learning–are able to choose from. U.S. News and World Report once ranked Princeton as the best National University and best Global University in the same year.

School’s Website: https://www.princeton.edu/main/
Freshman Retention Rate: 98.0%
Graduation Rate: 96.8%
Final Score: 194.8/200