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 5,963 colleges and universities, 3,520 schools (59.03%) offer online undergraduate courses and 2,341 schools (39.26%) offer online undergraduate degree programs. For graduate schoos, 1,927 schools (32.32%) have online undergraduate courses and 1,636 schools (27.44%) offer online graduate degree programs.
Especially, there are 74 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 74 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 2025 average undergraduate tuition of the online schools is $9,137 for state residents and $10,588 for out-of-state students. For graduate programs, 2025 tuition & fees is $11,302 for state residents and $11,151 for out-of-state students.
A total of 10,679 students enrolled in the online colleges and Western Governors University has the most online student of 210,208.
| 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 | 32 | 639 | Associate, Bachelor, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Starr King School for the Ministry Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $20,853 | 3 | 77 | Post-BS, Master | - |
| Walden University Private, 4-year | $11,067 | $10,885 | 138 | 49,441 | 1-Year Cert., Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| Nazarene Bible College Private, 4-year | $10,482 | Not Offered | 10 | 527 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor | - |
| Charter Oak State College Public, 4-year | $8,506 | $10,352 | 42 | 2,012 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Interdenominational Theological Center Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $17,518 | 2 | 60 | Master | - |
| Frontier Nursing University Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $20,460 | 9 | 2,664 | Master, Post-MS | - |
| Lexington Theological Seminary Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $9,420 | 5 | 82 | Post-BS, Master, Post-MS | - |
| University of New Hampshire College of Professional Studies Online Public, 4-year | $9,284 ($7,724) | $11,708 ($10,448) |
46 | 1,478 | Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Excelsior University Private, 4-year | - | - | 108 | 12,941 | 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 | 56 | 903 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Capella University Private, 4-year | $14,400 | $15,092 | 307 | 47,761 | Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| Western Governors University Private, 4-year | $8,658 | $9,320 | 75 | 210,208 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS | - |
| University of Arkansas Grantham Public, 4-year | $8,520 | $4,980 | 59 | 5,646 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| American College of Healthcare Sciences Private, 4-year | $13,040 | $13,790 | 12 | 1,052 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Northcentral University Private, 4-year | $12,594 | $17,998 | 60 | 9,489 | 1-Year Cert., Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| American InterContinental University System Private, 4-year | $12,397 | $11,633 | 68 | 11,277 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| American Public University System Private, 4-year | $8,400 | $8,700 | 200 | 50,715 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Doctoral | - |
| American College of Education Private, 4-year | $6,240 | $6,600 | 80 | 14,263 | Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| Columbia Southern University Private, 4-year | $6,224 | $3,936 | 65 | 17,763 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| Taft University System Private, 4-year | $6,480 | $6,630 | 10 | 324 | Bachelor, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Academy for Jewish Religion California Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $29,670 | 4 | 58 | Master | - |
| City Vision University Private, 4-year | $6,600 | $6,600 | 19 | 296 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Johnson & Wales University-Online Private, 4-year | $13,365 | $15,156 | 72 | 2,839 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Doctoral | Johnson & Wales University-Providence |
| Crestpoint University Private, 4-year | $7,995 | $6,045 | 7 | 446 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| Los Angeles Pacific University Private, 4-year | $12,360 | $12,240 | 21 | 1,881 | 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| Relay Graduate School of Education Private, 4-year | - | - | 2 | 1,324 | 1-Year Cert., Master | - |
| South University-Savannah Online Private, 4-year | $17,895 | $16,611 | 32 | 8,803 | Associate, Bachelor, Master, Post-MS, Doctoral | - |
| Catholic International University Private, 4-year | $10,080 | $6,936 | 6 | 230 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Sessions College Private, 4-year | $7,400 | Not Offered | 15 | 194 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor | - |
| Colorado State University Global Public, 4-year | $9,000 | $12,150 | 41 | 10,257 | 1-Year Cert., Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | Colorado State University-Fort Collins |
| Bryant & Stratton College-Online Private, 4-year | $16,274 | Not Offered | 35 | 10,343 | 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor | Bryant & Stratton College-Buffalo |
| Florida Institute of Technology-Online Private, 4-year | $12,780 | $16,860 | 35 | 815 | Associate, Bachelor, Master | Florida Institute of Technology |
| Midwives College of Utah Private, 4-year | $8,583 | $8,583 | 2 | 239 | Bachelor, Master | - |
| Future Generations University Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $12,800 | 1 | 48 | Post-BS, Master | - |
| Veritas Baptist College Private, 4-year | $9,712 | $7,812 | 15 | 211 | 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Arizona State University Digital Immersion Public, 4-year | $13,925 ($11,627) | $10,843 ($10,843) |
240 | 72,994 | 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 | 5,655 | Associate, Bachelor | University of Florida |
| Lionel University Private, 4-year | $15,265 | $13,480 | 4 | 403 | 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| California Intercontinental University Private, 4-year | $9,504 | $10,674 | 19 | 623 | Associate, Bachelor, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Bethany Global University Private, 4-year | $11,000 | $7,194 | 6 | 100 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| Martinsburg College Private, 4-year | $11,091 | - | 29 | 2,812 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Post-BS | - |
| Abraham Lincoln University Private, 4-year | $10,440 | $8,160 | 15 | 112 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Claremont Lincoln University Private, 4-year | $9,000 | $18,150 | 11 | 271 | Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| NationsUniversity Private, 4-year | $1,800 | $1,800 | 6 | 1,077 | 1-Year Cert., Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| University of the People Private, 4-year | $1,200 | - | 14 | 41,961 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master | - |
| America Evangelical University Private, 4-year | $6,200 | $6,200 | 7 | 307 | Bachelor, Master, Doctoral | - |
| University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Flex Public, 4-year | $6,750 | Not Offered | 7 | 551 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor | - |
| University of Wisconsin-Parkside Flex Public, 4-year | $6,750 | Not Offered | 3 | 173 | 1-Year Cert., Bachelor | - |
| Institute of Lutheran Theology Private, 4-year | $13,430 | $9,100 | 13 | - | 2-Years Cert., Associate, 2-4 Years Cert., Bachelor, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Pathways College Private, 4-year | $6,180 | Not Offered | 4 | 196 | Associate, Bachelor | - |
| Lakewood University Private, 4-year | $10,479 | $12,879 | 35 | 103 | 1-Year Cert., 2-Years Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Abilene Christian University-Undergraduate Online Private, 4-year | $14,520 | Not Offered | 15 | 1,224 | Bachelor | Abilene Christian University |
| Bridges Christian College Private, 4-year | $6,600 | $1,500 | 6 | 204 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor, Master, Doctoral | - |
| Reach University Private, 4-year | $12,374 | - | 6 | 2,230 | Bachelor, Post-BS, Master | - |
| Evangel University-College of Online Learning Private, 4-year | $8,175 | Not Offered | 14 | 242 | 1-Year Cert., Associate, Bachelor | - |
| Pontifex University Private, 4-year | Not Offered | $3,775 | 6 | 111 | Master, Doctoral | - |
