9. Lehigh University

Lehigh University is a private research university located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It was established back in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer – but its undergraduate programs have only been coeducational since the 1971-72 academic year.

The university offers a wide variety of programs online, with Lehigh’s Office of Distance Education using two different instructional platforms: Classroom Live, where classes are viewed online in real-time, and Classroom Online, which consists of pre-filmed classed that can be viewed anytime via streaming video. Additionally, faculty can use a variety of other means to communicate with students, such as e-mail, web-conferencing, discussion boards and phone calls.

Lehigh’s online courses typically follow the on-campus academic calendar and follow closely with on-campus course curriculum – with several programs being geared towards career advancement. Students taking online courses at Lehigh may also be eligible for employer-based tuition.

Graduation rate: 88%