Wichita State University's online Master of Education in Learning and Instructional Design program has been ranked No. 12 in a listing of the "50 Most Affordable Master's in Curriculum and Instruction Online 2015" by Top Education Degrees, an education and career resources website.

The ranking is based on information collected from National Center for Education Statistics College Navigator and researched 146 schools offering advanced online degrees in curriculum and instruction. Wichita State was the highest ranked of the two Kansas universities on the list.

“We are encouraged by this validation of our degree program,” said Shirley Lefever-Davis, dean of WSU’s College of Education. “The online master’s degree in Learning and Instructional Design is delivered in a manner that accommodates busy professionals wanting to enhance their expertise and become advanced leaders in teaching, learning and instructional design.”

The Master of Education in Learning and Instructional Design at Wichita State University (formerly the Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction) is an innovative, dynamic and flexible 36-hour program that meets the diverse needs and career goals of its candidates. The core curriculum consists of 21 credit hours of work in curriculum and instruction, three credit hours of thesis or nonthesis work and 12 credit hours of electives.

Wichita established Wichita State Online in fall 2013 to provide opportunities for students to complete fully online degree programs and classes. Under the direction of Mark Porcaro, executive director of online learning, Wichita State Online has grown from two to 16 fully online programs available for the 2015-2016 academic year. This fall, Wichita State reported its highest number of online student credit hours in history with 21,276 credit hours, a 27 percent increase from 2014-15.

“It has been a pleasure working with the faculty in the College of Education to help make this fully online program available.” Porcaro said. “Besides making changes to the program to appeal to a wider variety of students, the faculty have been working hard to design quality online courses that will help students in the program better engage with the subject matter and the faculty.”