A Sedalia community college ranks No. 1 in Missouri for online programs

An online college ranking system on Tuesday released its list of the best online schools in Missouri.

Topping the 2016 list of 73 schools is State Fair Community College, a two-year institution of higher learning located adjacent to the Missouri State Fairgrounds in Sedalia.

According to the OnlineColleges.com rankings, SFCC offers hybrid and fully online programs, including associate of arts programs and associate of applied science programs in medical assisting and business management.

OnlineColleges.com used data collected from the National Center for Education Statistics to determine the placement of each school in the ranking. Schools were evaluated on several criteria including: the number of online programs offered, the percentage of students studying online, the average cost of in-state and out-of-state tuition, and student services.

Out of all the colleges in Missouri that provide online classes, SFCC placed fourth for low in-state tuition and sixth for its out-of-state tuition.

Ozarks Technical Community College landed second on the list, followed by Three Rivers Community College, Crowder College and Columbia College.

OnlineColleges.com ranks more than 2,500 accredited colleges and universities across the country.

This story was originally published November 22, 2016 at 3:35 PM with the headline "A Sedalia community college ranks No. 1 in Missouri for online programs."