The Fire Science Online Methodology
Fire Science Online provides prospective firefighters with information about the various aspects of an education in Fire Science. However, our service can only be as good as the sources we use, which is why we pull our data from only the most respected and current, government-backed datasets.
Also, we like to include badges and logos with our lists, just in case colleges, universities, or media professionals need a visual aid for any planned promotions:
High Resolution Badge
Where We Get Our Data
In addition to information drawn directly from the institutions represented on our lists, FSO utilizes four primary sources of data. We get our numbers from:
- NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. It provides consistent, reliable, complete, and accurate indicators of education status and trends.
- IPEDS is the primary federal source for data on colleges, universities, and technical and vocational postsecondary schools in the U.S.
- Carnegie Classification is a framework widely used in the study of higher education, both as a way to represent and control for institutional differences, and also in the design of research studies to ensure adequate representation of sampled institutions, students, or faculty.
- Payscale.com is a leading provider of career-related data on a national, state, local, and individual basis. PayScale’s team of statisticians continually refines data collection methods to maximize accuracy and integrity.
Methodology for the Most Affordable Fire Science Degree Programs
Schools on the list of the Most Affordable Fire Science Degree Programs had to meet a number of criteria to be chosen. The limiting factors included:
- Colleges with average annual tuition below $10,000 only, according to IPEDS.
- Must have at least 5,000 active students enrolled.
- Must be a four-year, degree-granting institution.
- Fully-accredited schools only.
- Public and Private schools included.
- U.S. colleges only.