In March 2007, the first ever ranking of online school quality was published by the Online Education Database (OED). Grand Canyon University was named the top online university out of 21 schools, based on a list of unweighted criteria:

• Acceptance Rate

• Financial Aid

• Graduation Rate

• Peer Web Citations

• Retention Rate

• Scholarly Citations

• Student-Faculty Ratio

• Years Accredited

OED favored schools with a competitive acceptance rate, significant financial aid availability, high graduation rates, high faculty retention rates, low student-faculty ratio, the number of times the school is mentioned on the Internet, number of scholarly citations, and length of accreditation. Each school was required to be accredited, be listed in the College Opportunities Online Locator, offer more than one online degree program, and have its programs based primarily online.

School rankings tend to get a great deal of media attention, especially when US News and World Report publishes their annual list of the nation's top colleges. For as much positive attention as the rankings receive, however, they also tend to be heavily scrutinized and criticized. In “What's Wrong with College Rankings?” from College Confidential, factors such as the great diversity of people, programs, and campuses suggest that it is not possible to realistically or fairly compare colleges side-by-side.

But rankings can provide great services to students. One benefit is that they offer one comprehensive list of schools and easy access to presumably unbiased data. With online degree programs still relatively new in post-secondary education, OED's rankings publication offers a closer look at 21 quality schools that was previously unavailable in one location.

When looking at a school's ranking, it is important for a student to consider their own personal factors and devise their own rankings system. What OED or US News might consider to be most important might be of little significance to an aspiring online student. Tuition costs, technology, and student support services are factors that many students consider crucial, but are not included in school rankings.

Online Education Database Top Online Colleges 2007:

1. Grand Canyon University

2. Florida Metropolitan University

3. American InterContinental University

4. Capella University

5. Fisher College

6. Colorado Technical University

7. Post University

8. University of Maryland University College

9. Bellevue University

10. Westwood College

11. City University

12. Western International University

13. Jones International University

14. Western Governors University

15. University of Phoenix

16. Granite State College

17. South University

18. Strayer University