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The University of Florida's Warrington School of Business now has one more accolade to add to its reputation. The school's online distance learning program is one of only two schools to earn the top rank of "excellent" by The Economist magazine. Distance learning programs allow students to get a degree by taking online classes from the comfort of their own homes. The Economist magazine Business Education Editor Bill Ridgers researched distance learning programs world-wide and surveryed thousands of distance learning students to find out more about their respective programs. Ridgers believes that education should be a democratic process and should be readily available to all aspiring students regardless of their geographic location. He says that distance learning programs are ideal for those who already have a career or a family, where physically attending a campus would be next to impossible. He also says that the distance learning programs are just as beneficial as full-time degrees. The programs are respected by employers and gives the students in the program security knowing that their education is highly valuable. Ridgers says the University of Florida's Internet MBA and the International Excutive MBA offered by IE Business school in Spain are the two programs the study ranked as excellent, the highest ranking awarded by the magazine. Ridgers conducted the survey because he wanted to help students sort through the distance learning program possibilities and allow prospective students to see how each program measured up.