UF College of Education is the Nation’s Best Online Graduate Education Program

Success breeds success. We attract the highest quality students and retain the highest quality instructors. The Educational Leadership program works from a model of continuous improvement whereby we strive to know more and do more in preparing the next generation of school leaders. Our voices are included in state, national, and global conversations and our graduates consistently experience success in the institutions they ultimately come to lead.

The College of Education is top-notch at UF. Despite being an online program, most of my classes would require one to three Zoom sessions a semester to have the opportunity to virtually meet and engage with my professor and classmates. I valued these sessions because they built community and provided opportunities for us to work together and learn from each other. The COE provides opportunities for financial support through scholarships, which online graduate students can apply. The professors were always understanding of students being working professionals and were willing to meet at hours that not only worked with their busy schedule, but ours as well. Academic rigor and excellence was expected, but empathy and compassion was always present.

There is no such thing as a one-size fits all solution to education. Teachers, more than ever, need to feel empowered in finding solutions to improve education by collecting data to research their own classrooms to find strategies that work for their students in particular. The Teacher Leadership for School Improvement (TLSI) graduate program was designed with a great deal of input from practicing educators. That is why it is job-embedded, where what educators learn can be immediately implemented in their practice to address challenges in real-time.

The TLSI program pushes you to not only improve your classroom, but also provides tools and encourages you to guide your colleagues’ to improve their classrooms and the school in general. If you are an educator that really cares about all students and strives to make a difference in your sphere of influence, then this is the right program for you!

I believe that we are continuously highly ranked for our online programs because we have faculty with a range of content area expertise and the knowledge and experience to integrate best practices in online teaching and learning into their courses. We also have faculty who work hard to make sure the programs are cohesive and up-to-date and students who are engaged and interactive in online coursework which improves the experience for everyone.  In addition, we have support staff to help support students, address technical issues and support faculty with course design and development. Our online programs offer great opportunities for professional growth, career advancement, career transition and professional communication and collaboration.

I started with the instructional design certificate and enjoyed and learned so much from the classes that I decided to continue pursuing the M.Ed. program. And because I am attending the program while working full-time, I am able to apply the lessons and principles I’ve learned directly to my professional work. In terms of what has stood out, I think the variety and type of classes to choose from has been tremendously valuable. While some of the classes may be challenging, they all have been personally meaningful to me. Seeing many familiar faces throughout the program and in the same classes really helps to foster community even if many of us are from faraway places. Meeting such a diverse and highly talented group of fellow students has been an enriching experience.

The College of Education is the meeting place between educational theory and instructional best practice with both our instructors and supporting instructional design team collaborating on the design of online courses that engage the learner while also promoting a greater community of practice.

The online Reading Education program in the School of Teaching and Learning at UF offers a coherent, rigorous program of study that provides students with the knowledge, skills, tools, disposition, and experiences they need to succeed in the complex world of teaching. We have a talented and dedicated faculty who collaboratively work on curriculum and problems of professional practice, model best practices in the field, make explicit connections across courses and experiences, and provide timely, constructive feedback to student learning. We also have a support structure in the College of Education that is efficient and responsive to student needs. As a result, we have been able to attract a large national pool of outstanding students who are committed to learning and teaching.

I will say the Graduate COE online courses have been the most well designed and implemented Canvas courses I have encountered. As an adjunct professor at a local community college, my Canvas game has been elevated by just attending the UF courses. Very professional learning environment and I felt I was really part of a team. I know how folks are starting to tire of online learning post pandemic, but this level of online learning needs to be preserved for the inevitable periods of time when online learning will be the main form of learning in the future.

​​The University of Florida College of Education believes in our students and meeting their needs in the online setting. We consistently rank at the top because we have the best students and our faculty continuously improve their online teaching practices to meet the needs of our diverse students. We take the role of online learning seriously in this college!

I wanted to create and design more engaging courses for students to take in an online format. My current goal is to become an instructional designer so I can help educators and businesses make their courses creative and engaging for a diverse range of learners. There are always student events and activities held by the College of Education that welcome all students and provide the opportunity for social networking. My favorite part of being in the Ed Tech program is learning new technologies as they are emerging. Researching gamification, AI and VR technologies that are currently being tested for classrooms is exciting! It makes me feel like I am a part of something new and fresh.

When my youngest child went off to college, I decided to look into fully online graduate programs in the field of Educational Design and Technology. I applied to several schools, but UF was my first choice, as its online ed tech master’s program was ranked #1 in the country. I also appreciated the fact that I could plan my own pace and course of study for completing the program, as well as the fact that most of the courses are run in eight-week sessions, which allow me to focus on just one course at a time. The most rewarding thing about the program for me has been learning skills that I never imagined I could develop at this point in my life, from best practices for the creation and editing of educational videos to working with animation software to building websites using HTML and CSS.

As someone who is also undergoing a second bachelor’s degree, in person, I have found that my online professors are more approachable and responsive than my in-person professors. Furthermore, I have always felt supported through the discussion posts and collaborative work with my peers. I have formed friendships without having met my peers face to face. Peer responses in discussion forums are always encouraging with constructive feedback, and I have learnt an immense amount from these discussions. All the courses were highly applicable; however, there were some which assisted me in developing a large work portfolio that I would like to share with future employees. The practical aspect of having this portfolio, at the ready, to share, is invaluable.