A professional in quality control and safety can be a notable asset to companies and factories in many different industries. However, part of being a quality control professional is keeping up to date on laws, issues and decisions in the field. Online bachelor's degree programs in quality control and safety can be an excellent way to elevate your knowledge of quality and safety issues. Although some on-the-job training is a must, a degree in quality control and safety can be a huge boost for your career.
When enrolling in a school, it is important to choose a college that suits your educational and financial needs. To help with your decision, we've put together this list of five featured online colleges offering online programs in quality control and safety. Data for this list came from the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), which we analyzed using our proprietary methodology. Check out these schools as you decide which program is right for you.
Central Community College (CCC) offers an online associate degree in quality technology. The Quality Technology A.A.S. degree intends to provide students with a solid educational foundation in the quality technology field. Topics and courses focus on root cause analysis, statistical process control, quality auditing and blueprint reading. A grounding in these topics can be the perfect stepping stone to careers as quality assurance technicians, quality inspectors, research analysts and more.
The associate degree program at Central Community College is available entirely online, helping the college stand out in our study. This college also receives recognition for its commitment to accessibility. CCC's open admissions policy, where the school will accept any applicant that has a high school diploma or a GED certificate, makes higher education easily accessible to students from all backgrounds.
Accreditation:
Location:
3134 West Hwy. 34The Occupational Safety and Health Technology Program (OSHT) at Trinidad State Junior College also finds a spot on our list. This program lays the educational foundation for students seeking a career in occupational health and safety. Courses generally focus on how to perform basic occupational health and safety functions, identify problems, interpret data to solve those problems and evaluate the results.
Trinidad State Junior College offers both a professional certificate and an associate's degree program in OSHT. The fact that they have multiple degree options and the second-highest graduation rate of the schools we looked at earned the school high marks. Additionally, the open admissions policy at Trinidad State helps rank the college highly for accessibility.
Accreditation:
Location:
600 Prospect St.Odessa College's Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S) in Occupational Safety & Environmental Technology program seeks to keep safety professionals up to date on government regulations and introduce those just entering the field to concepts they are likely to use in related careers. The program focuses on a few different sets of safety regulations, from OSHA to DOT, and on various aspects of quality control, from presentation to management.
This A.A.S. can be pursued entirely online. Along with their open admissions policy, this helps Odessa College score high marks for accessibility. The school also awards the second-highest percentage of quality control and safety degrees of the institutions recognized here.
Accreditation:
Location:
201 W. University Blvd.Columbia Southern University offers a number of different postsecondary options for students exploring careers in occupational health and safety. These programs focus on a number of different industries such as healthcare, construction, manufacturing and more. Completion of these programs also meets the requirements for certain professional designations like the Associate Safety Professional (ASP) and Certified Safety Professional (CSP).
Offering one of the few online bachelor's degree programs in quality control and safety is reason enough to feature this university. However, Columbia Southern University actually offers 5 different degree programs and concentrations total in the field, ranging from certificate programs to master's degrees — over twice as many as the next highest on our list. The school also ranks first among schools listed for the percentage of quality control and safety degrees awarded.
Accreditation:
Location:
21982 University LaneStudents seeking online bachelor's degree programs in quality control and safety need look no further than Eastern Kentucky University (EKU). This school's occupational safety degree program aims to prepare students with the knowledge they need to operate an occupational safety program at their place of employment. The program helps develop leadership skills and professional strategies to prevent occupational hazards and accidents from occurring.
Offering a bachelor's degree helped EKU make our list of the best online colleges for quality control and safety. The university also boasts the highest graduation rate of all the schools we have profiled.
Accreditation:
Location:
521 Lancaster Ave.Quality control and safety can be a rewarding field, particularly when it results in food, healthcare, or manufactured items that are safer for their consumers. Quality assurance is an important part of the career and will be addressed in many different degree programs. The section below describes the coursework that a student might explore in online quality control safety programs, as well as the work-relevant skills that coursework may foster.
Students often find that the breadth of their coursework depends on the degree program they are enrolled in. When it comes to online programs, most of the currently existing options are available at the bachelor's and master's degree levels. Some of the coursework that could be covered in different programs is described below.
Online education for quality control safety highlights skills that students may want to develop in order to build success in their field. Quality control professionals can work in different industries, but many of the needed skill sets remain the same. Below are some of these commonly taught traits that quality control and safety professionals may want to specifically pursue.
From workplace safety to clean drinking water, there are multiple ways that different professionals are contributing to reducing the effects of contaminants.
Environmental engineering technicians are the movers and shakers of the environmental science world. After scientists and engineers devise an appropriate plan for cleaning up or correcting an issue, these professionals take that plan and put it into action, digging in and getting their hands dirty for the sake of our planet.
Environmental engineering technicians have multiple responsibilities, including installing, testing and maintaining environmental cleanup equipment; collecting and analyzing air, water and soil samples in order to conduct pollution surveys; creating assessment reports; ensuring that hazardous materials are disposed of properly; and overseeing processes designed to reduce emissions. They are also important resources in laboratories, where they record observations, test results, and document lab work, as well as keep the lab supplied by identifying and ordering from the best suppliers.