Today, we have universities existing in the virtual world, a massive progression in how easy it has become to access learning. Let us take a look at universities from all over the world, from a time far back in the past. These hallowed places of learning gave us inventors and discoverers on whose shoulders some of our most eminent modern thinkers, scientists, and philosophers have stood and contributed to take civilization forward.

1. Academy of Gondishapur – This university in Iran during the 6th and 7th centuries A.D. was the pre-eminent center of learning in the Persia. It was established in 271 A.D. Those were the days of the Sassanid Empire, the last great pre-Islamic empire in Persia. Historians maintain that during its heyday, this university was the best center in the world for learning medicine; the university actually came into being as a center for medicine. In fact, the genesis of the hospital system of patient care is said to have originated from Persia. Apart from medicine, studies in astrology, theology, math, science, and literature flourished in Gondishapur.

2. Platonic Academy or The University of Athens – Famous during its time as The Academy, this school was founded by a person no less than Plato. It came into being in 387 B.C and up till 83 B.C, when it was closed down; this school was the epicenter of learning and gave us stalwarts that have shaped human thought. Apart from its illustrious founder, another well-known name is that of Aristotle, who studied here for a good twenty years. The school contained the Sacred Grove of Athena and was so revered by all that even the Spartans, the sworn enemies of the Athenians, would not desecrate it during wartime.

3. University of Nalanda – This was one of the grandest and greatest universities mankind has seen or will see rivaled perhaps only by the Takshshila University, which existed before it in what is today Pakistan. For seven hundred years, from 500 C.E, this center of learning in the Indian state of Bihar, attracted students and scholars from far corners of the world. The university reached its zenith under the Gupta kings till the 9th century C.E. The university was huge enough to accommodate 10,000 students and 2,000 teachers and it had a sprawling dormitory apart from a massive campus. The partially excavated ruins of the university cover 150,000 square meters and there’s still a lot of digging to do as almost 90% of the place is unexcavated.

4. University of Takshshila – Takshshila is rooted in history. It is the site of what is known as the oldest authentic university. Located in Rawalpindi in Pakistan, the university was fantastically located in terms of attracting talent as well as information. The university was as the crossroads of what are today the Grand Trunk Road, the Silk Route, and the Northwest route. The university finds mention in documents of the 5th century BCE and is considerably older. Students entered the university aged 16 years and learnt the sacred texts, archery, hunting, warfare techniques, the sciences, language, astronomy, etc. In all there were eighteen subjects that were taught. Illustrious names associated with Takshshila that still shine through the mists of time include Chanakya the author of Arthshastra, emperor Chandragupt, and the physician Charak.

5. University of Alexandria – The Mouseion or the University of Alexandria was alma mater to a personality no less than Archimedes as well as Euclid and Eratosthenes. Located in Egypt, the university boasted a massive library that contained much of the information that was known to man at that time – and the time we are talking about was 2,300 years ago. The university was known to have existed in Alexandria but no-one knew where. It was purely a fabled place that was thought to have been at the crossroads of cultures – eastern and western. Only in 2005 did archeologists crack the location of this university. The university in all probability was located in the royal quarters and flourished under royal patronage. The city was founded by Alexander the Great. Much of the scientific research that resulted in giant leaps for the western world and in some cases, mankind, came from the venerable denizens of the University of Alexandria.

1) University of Phoenix
This university has the largest online educational network in the entire north America and apart from online network a lot of modern campuses across the country. It offers educational degree, diploma and certification programs which cover almost all the educational disciplines and career oriented fields of expertise. In any list of top 5 or top 10 online universities this university is a automatic choice.

2) Walden University
This online university is well known for its great expanse of its educational offerings in almost every professional and academic disciplines. The reputation of this university is well spread in many quarters of business, government and other professional employers.

3) DeVry University
The academic excellence of this university is too well known in the educational community of the country and offers a great range of career focused education covering almost all the professional disciplines like, health care, business, education, psychology, social studies, technology, natural sciences, applied science etc.

4) Kaplan University
This university would dominantly feature in any list of top 10 online universities specially in the field of health care and related disciplines. This university is famous for its numerous online technician programs in various fields of health care, like pharmacy, dentistry, physician assistant, nursing and many more.

5) American Intercontinental University
This online university has built a huge reputation in the academic and professionally focused study of some disciplines which have few contemporaries among the top 10 online universities of the country. The specific schools of online education that this university offers include,
School of Business
School of Criminal Justice
School of Design
School of Education
School of Information Technology.

6) Ashford University
This university is particularly well known for its professional and career oriented degree curriculums rather than academic studies. This university is a great destination for the aspirants of online master degree programs in various career focused as well as job oriented disciplines. Some of the offered programs are,
Master of Arts in Education – Online
Master of Arts in Health Care Administration – Online
Master of Arts in Organizational Management – Online
Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning with Technology – Online
Master of Business Administration – Online
Master of Public Administration – Online

7) John Hopkins University Online
This university basically offers degree programs in the classroom mode of regular education, but in the recent years some of the degree programs offered by this university in the disciplines of science, environmental studies and technology has been greatly popular. The online degree program’s offered by this university include,
Bioinformatics
Computer Science
Environmental Planning and Management
Environmental Engineering and Science
Systems Engineering.

8 ) Boston University Online
Though in the offline mode of education this university would always feature among the top 5 universities in the country, our list of top 10 online universities in the country features it at no. 7 because of its comparatively new exposure in the online mode of education. The great tradition of its educational excellence is present in its online mode of education also.

9) Colorado Technical University Online
This university has no comparison in the online technical as well as applied technology education. It’s Master degree program in Business and IT is among the best online programs in the discipline of business and information technology which scheduled to be completed in a record time of just 15 months.

10) Florida Tech University Online
This is a 100% online university specialised in the technical as well as applied science and technology disciplines of modern day technical job responsibilities. It has been ranked many a times as one of the top 5 or top 10 online universities in the country by the U.S. news.

The above mentioned list of top 10 online universities in the country excludes many a great universities which offers a wide array of quality educational programs in many disciplines.

Accreditation
Before selecting a course, you should check whether it is accredited or not. Enrolling in non accredited courses is wastage of time and money. Such degrees have no value in job market. In United States, recognition and accreditation to online courses are provided by Middle States, Northwest, North Central, New England, Western and Southern accrediting associations. You should check whether the respective course has accreditation from these regional associations.

An online university can be classified as the best one if it has 100% online presence. If the online university uses less effective mediums like telephone, mail, videotape, it cannot be named as 100% online.

Technical Infrastructure
Online teaching technologies and capabilities are expanding tremendously. Therefore, you should select an online university, which has good technical infrastructure like video conferencing, whiteboard capabilities, video streaming, email, websites, bulletin boards, etc.

Track Record
Before enrolling, you should also check the credibility and history of online universities. The technologies they are providing must be perfect and possess high quality. The problems in technology adversely affect your learning process. So it is important to select an easy to use online program.

Online Financing and Faculty Schemes
It is highly important to check the qualification of faculty members and their training on productive online classrooms. You can find a large number of online universities, which do not have qualified teachers to deliver the lecturers. The best online universities also provide various financial options such as scholarships and educational loans for learning in that university.

5 Best Online University Reviews

American University
Located in Washington DC, this nationally acclaimed university is considered as one of the best accredited universities in the northeast. American University is very popular because of its high academic standards. It prepares students to engage in international level, international fellowships, promoting study abroad, and the understanding of global issues and affairs. Its average class size is 23 and the overall ratio of student to faculty is 14:1.

The nationally recognized career center of American university assists its students by providing internships, monitoring services and access to networking and job tips. The faculty members of this university are highly qualified.

Studying in American University is beneficial for growing personally because the students get supports from Jabobs Fitness Center, The Katzen Arts Center, and Kay Spiritual Life Center. The campus gives strong emphasis on politics or social issues. It is a major problem for those who not interested in these issues.

Argosy University
This university prepares students by providing high quality academic studies and vocational training. It has 19 campuses in different states of America. Argosy University has high quality teaching team and curriculum. So it is considered as one of the fastest growing top online accredited universities. This university is a member of North Central Association and its courses are accredited by Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Argosy University undertakes online degree programs such as psychology, health science, business, education, behavioral science, etc.

Ashland University
Online university reviews reveal that Ashland University offers top rated online education to its students. It is a private teaching university and it is located in Ashland, OH. The university is conducting various undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, liberal arts, and professional training. The online degree programs of Ashland University are accredited by various agencies such as:

• American Chemical Society,
• Council on Social Work Education,
• National Association of Schools of Music,
• National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education,
• National League of Nursing,
• Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs,
• North Central Association of Colleges and School.

Ashworth University
This university encourages all types of students such as high school, undergraduate and graduate students. The courses of this university are highly flexible. Located at Norcross, GA, Ashworth University offers all levels of career oriented programs such as high school, diplomas, associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Kaplan University
This is one of the famous online universities in the world. It has several campus locations and an online school. The non traditional students can access its education programs. Kaplan University is a member of North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA). It is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

100% online presence of the Institution: There are many online institutions, which are despite being called online, are not 100 percent online. Instead they use less effective mediums like mail, telephone, videotape or needs some on-campus attendance.

Track Record of the Online Program: As with expansion of need for online education. There are many universities, which are needed to be checked out for history and credibility as their may not be any problem with technologies, that they are providing. This hurt the spirit of the students who look out for speed and consistency. One should choose an online program that is easy to use and be proof of crashing problems.

Good Technical Infrastructure: As with expanding online teaching capabilities and technologies like Video Streaming, Whiteboard Capabilities and Video Conferencing one should properly cross reference their working capabilities in reference to the program that you are thinking to pursue after. And you should go after classes that use proven technologies like e-mail, bulletin boards and websites.

Online Faculty and Financing Schemes:  There are many online universities, which instead of recruiting qualified teachers deliver lectures thorough local classroom teachers and computer with internet access. Therefore, you should prior check out for faculty’s training on productive online classroom.  And finally, you should also enquire about various financing options for teaching and learning at the institution, including education loans and scholarships.

However, there is a downside to open courseware. The fact that you cannot earn credits may be a setback though some universities are offering tuition for those that complete some online projects. One of the universities that have really contributed to open courseware is Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2001, they announced that they world be making most of their courses available online paving way to as academic revolution. Though it does not grant degrees, their courseware is important to self-learners by providing lectures, assignments and exams. In total, the MIT collection is by far the largest with 1,800 courses. The university reports a very positive response and promises to continue expanding their courseware.

Other universities have not been left behind and we have a number with courseware collections. One of these is Harvard Medical School. Over the years, this school has built a reputation for producing the best doctors in the world. Now, they open their resources for the world to access for free. The Harvard open courseware initiative offers everything that is related to the field of medicine from medical student handbooks and course materials to resources that are listed under what is popularly called the “Virtual Patient” category.

IBM University has also not trailed behind in this academic wave. The university has placed itself as a technology hub in the world. Their open courseware has helped researchers in higher education institutions to access and implement into their curriculum, the latest technology. They offer all kinds of resources related to software and hardware maintenance and training.

Josh Hopkins School for Public Health has added its course materials to the myriad of open courseware resources now available online. They offer courses ranging from adolescent to refugee health. Their site is now reputed to be one of the most comprehensive and educative on matters of health education. North Carolina State University (NCSU) opened an open courseware lab as early as 1998. Founded by Professor Michael Rappa, the lab has been relied on for matters regarding the use of the internet to promote open exchange of knowledge in the academic circles. This makes the university one of the pioneers of open courseware.

Finally, we have the Oxford Internet Institute which offers courses regarding areas like social media, online security and safety, internet regulation, e-government and many search internet related courses. All these institutions are among the hundreds now providing open courseware and advancing the revolution.

More still, you are able to navigate through numerous associate and bachelor programs that are flexible and highly recognized. Whether it is in the category of arts, justice, law, trade, information or communication, be assured of getting whatever you want. It can be the nations leading seminary school, or an evangelical university that is complete with Christian learning serene environment. Look no further than the top online universities that are listed within in our portal.

Invest on our site for cultivation of education programs as our online university scholarships operation is web based. The scholarships have helped tens and thousands of students to pursue higher learning education. Student selection is based on merit and on need.

We have a stand-alone and easy to use website that you can navigate with little knowledge. It incorporates navigation software, maps and search results are accessible in real time.

No serious student has ever stopped at the site and said it took long enough to find a search. If you are a high school graduate thinking about joining college but is in deep financial crisis, then this is the way to go.

However, the students must be enthusiastic about programs they would love to concentrate on. So it is up to the student applicant to stay on top by filing online applications. Our web portal is dedicated to online university college grants.