The distance education, widely known as online learning, is originally designed to help students who may not be physically present at a campus.
However, now it used to refere a type of learning or a school category and a large number of colleges offere online learning opportunities.
Of the total 6,563 colleges and universities, 3,536 schools (53.88%) offer online undergraduate courses and 2,298 schools (35.01%) offer online undergraduate degree programs. For graduate schoos, 1,909 schools (29.09%) have online undergraduate courses and 1,602 schools (24.41%) offer online graduate degree programs.
Especially, there are 70 online colleges that offer all programs via online completely without on-campus duties. Some colleges have turned into online schools and a number of well-known colleges has created online divisions to provide online learning opportunities to their students.
Here, we compare the tuition & fees between the 70 online-completely colleges that all programs could be done through online exclusively. In general, the tuition & fees is lower than typical on-campus programs and the difference between in-state and out-of-state rate is not that great. The 2024 average undergraduate tuition of the online schools is $9,126 for state residents and $9,763 for out-of-state students. For graduate programs, 2024 tuition & fees is $11,102 for state residents and $10,998 for out-of-state students.
A total of 9,233 students enrolled in the online colleges and Western Governors University has the most online student of 156,935.
| School Name | Undergraduate Tuition | Graduate Tuition | Number of Online Programs | Online Student Population | Offered Degrees | Parent Institute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amridge University Private, 4-year | $10,470 | $13,090 | 31 | 647 | Associate, Bachelor, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Starr King School for the Ministry Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $27,790 | 3 | 85 | Post-BS, Master | - |
| Walden University Private, 4-year | $10,823 | $10,657 | 137 | 42,312 | Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| Nazarene Bible College Private, 4-year | $10,002 | Not Offered | 10 | 566 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor | - |
| Charter Oak State College Public, 4-year | $8,506 | $10,352 | 38 | 1,602 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Rensselaer at Hartford Private, 4-year | Not Offered | - | 15 | 115 | Post-BS, Master, Post-MS | - |
| Frontier Nursing University Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $18,500 | 9 | 2,335 | Master, Post-MS | - |
| Lexington Theological Seminary Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $9,420 | 5 | 90 | Post-BS, Master, Post-MS | - |
| University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies Online Public, 4-year | $9,372 ($7,812) | $11,238 ($10,320) |
69 | 1,416 | 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Excelsior University Private, 4-year | - | - | 105 | 15,833 | Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS | - |
| Heritage Bible College Private, 4-year | $8,688 | $10,440 | 3 | 26 | Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| National American University-Rapid City Private, 4-year | $16,065 | $16,425 | 93 | 1,151 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Bryan University Private, 4-year | $15,868 | $14,420 | 14 | 135 | 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| Capella University Private, 4-year | $14,436 | $15,066 | 226 | 39,727 | Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| Western Governors University Private, 4-year | $8,300 | $8,856 | 70 | 156,935 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS | - |
| University of Arkansas Grantham Public, 4-year | $8,280 | $4,800 | 59 | 5,436 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| American College of Healthcare Sciences Private, 4-year | $12,656 | $13,466 | 11 | 987 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Northcentral University Private, 4-year | $12,594 | $17,998 | 60 | 11,578 | 1-Year Cert., Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| American InterContinental University System Private, 4-year | $12,310 | $12,169 | 65 | 14,333 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Doctoral | - |
| American Public University System Private, 4-year | $8,400 | $8,160 | 197 | 48,668 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Doctoral | - |
| American College of Education Private, 4-year | $6,240 | $6,600 | 68 | 10,003 | 1-Year Cert., Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| Columbia Southern University Private, 4-year | $5,808 | $3,820 | 58 | 15,948 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| Taft University System Private, 4-year | $4,320 | $4,610 | 10 | 526 | Bachelor, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Academy for Jewish Religion California Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $29,670 | 4 | 0 | Master | - |
| City Vision University Private, 4-year | $6,400 | $6,400 | 18 | 182 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Johnson & Wales University-Online Private, 4-year | $13,365 | $15,156 | 72 | 2,504 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Doctoral | Johnson & Wales University-Providence |
| National Paralegal College Private, 4-year | $7,995 | $6,045 | 7 | 486 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| Los Angeles Pacific University Private, 4-year | $11,975 | $11,880 | 19 | 1,895 | 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| Relay Graduate School of Education Private, 4-year | - | - | 2 | 2,637 | 1-Year Cert., Master | - |
| South University-Savannah Online Private, 4-year | $16,452 | $16,536 | 34 | 7,707 | Associate, Bachelor, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| Catholic Distance University Private, 4-year | $9,600 | $9,900 | 6 | 168 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Sessions College for Professional Design Private, 4-year | $12,440 | Not Offered | 15 | 308 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor | - |
| Colorado State University Global Public, 4-year | $8,400 | $9,000 | 38 | 9,565 | 1-Year Cert., Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | Colorado State University-Fort Collins |
| Bryant & Stratton College-Online Private, 4-year | $15,855 | Not Offered | 37 | 9,050 | 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor | Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo |
| Florida Institute of Technology-Online Private, 4-year | $12,240 | $16,128 | 35 | 1,230 | Associate, Bachelor, Master | Florida Institute of Technology |
| Midwives College of Utah Private, 4-year | $8,256 | $8,256 | 3 | 282 | Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| Future Generations University Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $12,800 | 1 | 42 | Master | - |
| Veritas Baptist College Private, 4-year | $8,992 | $7,452 | 13 | 182 | 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Arizona State University Digital Immersion Public, 4-year | $13,625 ($11,421) | $10,573 ($10,573) |
203 | 62,551 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| University of Florida-Online Public, 4-year | $16,579 ($3,876) | Not Offered | 26 | 5,356 | Associate, Bachelor | University of Florida |
| Lionel University Private, 4-year | $15,288 | $13,275 | 4 | 510 | 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| California Intercontinental University Private, 4-year | $9,054 | $10,674 | 29 | 506 | Associate, Bachelor, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Martinsburg College Private, 4-year | $11,091 | - | 26 | 2,505 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Post-BS | - |
| Abraham Lincoln University Private, 4-year | $9,120 | $6,840 | 19 | 177 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Claremont Lincoln University Private, 4-year | $6,000 | $13,825 | 10 | 220 | Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| NationsUniversity Private, 4-year | $1,800 | $1,800 | 6 | 1,182 | 1-Year Cert., Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| University of the People Private, 4-year | $1,200 | - | 12 | 34,192 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| America Evangelical University Private, 4-year | $6,200 | $6,200 | 7 | 125 | Bachelor, Master, Doctoral | - |
| University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Flex Public, 4-year | $6,750 | Not Offered | 6 | 612 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor | - |
| University of Wisconsin-Parkside Flex Public, 4-year | $6,750 | Not Offered | 2 | 146 | 1-Year Cert., Bachelor | - |
| The Continents States University Private, 4-year | Not Offered | - | 3 | - | Post-BS, Master | - |
| Institute of Lutheran Theology Private, 4-year | $10,560 | $8,710 | 13 | - | 2-Years Cert., Associate, 2-4 Years Cert., Bachelor, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Pathways College Private, 4-year | $6,180 | Not Offered | 2 | 9 | Associate, Bachelor | - |
| Lakewood University Private, 4-year | $10,479 | $12,879 | 33 | 169 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Abilene Christian University-Undergraduate Online Private, 4-year | $14,520 | Not Offered | 15 | 766 | Bachelor | Abilene Christian University |
| Bridges Christian College Private, 4-year | $6,600 | $1,500 | 5 | 61 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| Reach University Private, 4-year | $12,374 | - | 6 | 896 | Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Evangel University-College of Online Learning Private, 4-year | $7,870 | Not Offered | 9 | 240 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor | - |
| Pontifex University Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $3,775 | 6 | 111 | Master, Doctoral | - |
