The Best Online Colleges

McFatter Technical College is a vocational school located in Davie, Florida, just north of Miami. The campus also contains a high school. Unlike most schools on this list, McFatter Technical College is a two-year school, offering a dozen certificate programs. Most other schools on this list are four-year colleges that offer bachelor’s degrees.

The school ranks as one of the best online colleges, in large part because it has a 62% graduation rate, much higher than the 49% average among all schools. Also, 85% of MTC graduates are employed two years after graduation, slightly higher than the 83% rate across all colleges.

AdventHealth University is an Orlando, Florida-based college that is associated with the Seventh Day Adventist Church and its AdventHealth health care system. The school offers three online degree programs. The vast majority of degrees AdventHealth University awards — nearly 95% — are in the health professions and related programs.

Health care professions tend to pay relatively well, and the median income for working AHU graduates 10 years after entering the school is $56,000 — one of the 20 highest incomes out of more than 300 colleges for which there is data.

The University of Illinois at Springfield is a part of the University of Illinois System, one of several large four-year state schools to rank among the best online colleges. The college offers 12 online degree programs and is one of eight colleges on this list to award more business degrees than any other degree.

Of the best online colleges, the University of Illinois at Springfield is also one of the most difficult to get into, admitting just over half of applicants, at 52.8%. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, in the fall of 2019, more than 40% of the school’s students were exclusively enrolled in online courses.

Berklee College of Music is the only school to rank among the best online colleges to award more performing arts degrees than any other type of degree. Other top online colleges more commonly award business, engineering, health professions, and theology degrees.

Berklee is the most difficult of the best online colleges to get into, admitting less than half of all applicants. It is also by far the most expensive, with an average cost of attendance over $63,000 per year. School data clearinghouse Niche gave the school’s academics a B+ grade overall, based on student and alumni reviews, as well as data like admissions rate and the quality of professors.

Southwest Mississippi Community College is one of just a handful of two-year schools to rank among the best online colleges. The school offers nine associate’s degree programs to its online students.

Of its nearly 1,800 students, more than half were either enrolled in some or all distance learning classes in the fall 2019 semester. The school ranks highly, with Niche giving the school’s academics and value B+ grades.

In addition to being one of the top online colleges, Johnson University in Knoxville, Tennessee, also ranks as one of the top colleges for religious studies. In fact, most graduates earn a degree in theology and religious vocations.

The Christian college ranks as one of the top online colleges in large part because it is a good deal. According to its ranking based on factors like graduation rate, tuition cost, earnings of graduates, and more, Niche gave Johnson University a B+ grade for its overall value.

Minnesota State Community and Technical College is a two-year school that offers 41 online programs for students — 25 certificate programs and 16 associate’s degree programs. The school ranks as one of the best online colleges in part because of the high marks it received for its value. With an average cost of attendance under $15,000 per year, students and alumni gave the college a B+ grade for value.

The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg ranks as one of the best online colleges. Nearly 70% of students were enrolled exclusively or partially in distance education classes as of the fall 2019 semester, even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The school offers more than 20 online bachelor’s degree programs.

Southern Miss is a large public university, with an enrollment of nearly 12,000. The school ranks as one of the best online colleges in large part because of its faculty. Niche gave the college’s professors an A- grade, based on factors such as student surveys, diversity, salaries, and student to faculty ratio. The school has a 17:1 student-to-faculty ratio — lower than many other schools. This low ratio allows students to get individualized attention, which can help their learning.

Holmes Community College is one of just a handful of two-year colleges that do not offer bachelor’s degrees to rank among the best online colleges in the country. The school offers almost 100 associate’s degree and certificate programs.

Holmes Community College students are among the least likely to actually finish their program, with a 34.7% completion rate for full-time, first time college students. Yet the school ranks as one of the best in large part because its faculty received an A- grade from Niche.

California Baptist University ranks as one of the top online colleges, with an overall B+ grade from Niche. CBU also received a B+ both for its value and for its professors. The school offers two dozen different degree programs to online students. Its most commonly awarded degree fields are health professions, business, and liberal arts.

Though it ranks among the top online colleges, less than a third of University of Massachusetts – Lowell students were enrolled in either some or all online classes as of fall 2019. As a larger state school that is part of the University of Massachusetts System, UMass – Lowell has an enrollment of over 13,000 students.

UMass – Lowell offers 11 bachelor’s degree programs, 11 certificate programs, and four associate’s degree programs online. Overall, the school received a B+ grade from Niche, including an A grade for its value and a B+ for its academics.

Regis University in Denver ranks as one of the best online colleges in the country, offering its students 26 different online bachelor’s degree programs. Of the best online colleges, it is one of the most difficult to get into, accepting just over 60% of applicants.

Regis University ranks as one of the best online colleges in large part because the school provides one of the better values among higher educational institutions. Most students working 10 years after entry earn over $56,000 per year, with an average salary of $62,700 — both figures rank among the top 20 among U.S. colleges. Overall, the school received an A- grade from Niche for its overall value, even though it is one of the pricier schools in the country with an average cost of attendance over $48,000.

Like several other schools on this list, the University of Minnesota Crookston is part of a large public university system, in this case the University of Minnesota System. It offers students over a dozen online bachelor’s degree programs, including criminal justice, finance, IT management, and more.

The school ranks as one of the best online colleges in large part because it received an A- grade from Niche for its value, and an overall grade of B+. The average working student earns over $49,000 per year a decade after entry, higher than the vast majority of other colleges considered.

Maryville University is one of just a handful of the best online colleges that actually had over half of its students enrolled exclusively in distance education courses as of fall 2019, at 61.2%. The university has one of the highest admission rates among the best online colleges, at more than 94% of applicants admitted.

One of the benefits of online college is that it allows for greater flexibility for students, which may help some finish their degrees. Of the best online colleges, Maryville University has the highest degree completion rate, at 72.1%. The school ranks as one of the top online colleges in large part because it received an A- grade for its value, according to a Niche survey.

Keiser University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, offers its students more than 20 online bachelor’s degree programs. Health professions and related programs is by far the school’s most popular major, yet it offers other online degrees like engineering, business administration, psychology and more.

Overall, the school received a B+ grade from Niche, as well as a B+ for academics and an A grade for diversity. Per a Niche survey, 88% of students said professors put a lot of effort into teaching their classes, and 85% of students agree that the workload is easy to manage.

Everglades University is one of five schools located in Florida to rank among the best online colleges. In fact, three Florida universities are among the top 10. In the fall of 2019, nearly two-thirds of the school’s students took either some or all of their classes online.

The school offers 11 different online bachelor’s degree programs, including hospitality management, international business, construction management, aviation, and more. The school received a B+ overall grade from Niche, in part because students are more likely to finish their degree from Everglades University than those at the typical school, and students tend to earn more money after attending the school than those who attend most other schools.

The University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau ranks as one of the top 10 online colleges in America. Nearly two-thirds of its students took either some or all of their classes online in the fall semester of 2019.

The university ranks as one of the best online colleges in large part because of its faculties. The professors received an A- grade from Niche, and the school boasts a relatively low 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio, which allows students to get more individualized attention and can benefit students.

Liberty University is by far the largest school to rank among the best online colleges, with more than 45,000 enrolled students. The vast majority of enrollees take classes exclusively online, at 82.3% — more than 20 percentage points higher than any other school on this list.

Students have many options when it comes to online courses, as they can choose from 30 bachelor’s degree courses, 12 associate’s degree courses, and 17 certificate courses. Per a Niche survey, the majority of Liberty students gave their professors positive reviews, saying they spent a lot of effort teaching their courses.

Of the few two-year community and technical colleges that rank among the best online colleges, none ranks higher than Lake Area Technical College in Watertown, South Dakota. Nearly half of all students at the school took either some or all of their classes online in the fall of 2019.

Just 7.2% of people who went to Lake Area Technical College were unemployed a decade after first entering the school. That is not just the lowest percentage of any school on this list, but one of the very lowest of any college in the U.S. This is one of the reasons why LATC received an A- grade for its value, and an overall grade of B+ from Niche.

Moody Bible Institute, located in Chicago, is one of the two top online colleges in which the most common degree is theology and religious vocations. In fact, all online programs offered by the school fit into this category, including ministry leadership, biblical studies, and theology and cultural engagement.

Moody Bible Institute received an overall grade from Niche of B+, which includes an A grade for both diversity and value. More than 40% of MBI students took either some or all of their classes online in the fall of 2019. The school admits nearly all applicants, with an admission rate of over 95%.

The University of Colorado Denver is one of just four colleges on this list that have received an A- overall grade from Niche. The school received B+ grades for its academics and value, and an A for its diversity.

University of Colorado Denver students tend to earn much more than those who attended other schools that ranked among the best online colleges. Most UCD students who work earn over $56,000 per year a decade after leaving the school, with an average earnings of $71,200 — one of the 10 highest averages out of the hundreds of colleges for which there is data.

Oregon State University is one of the top three online colleges in the country. It has an overall A- grade from Niche, and as a large state school, it has one of the highest enrollments on this list, at nearly 25,000. Nearly half of all these students took at least one class online in the fall of 2019.

The point of college, online or not, is to give students knowledge and skills, which could also help them in the workforce. Most working Oregon State students earned over $49,000 a decade after entering the school, with an average earnings of $56,700 — both figures among the highest of all colleges.

Of the nearly 42,000 Florida International University students in the fall of 2019, more than two-thirds took either some or all of their classes online. FIU offers 36 different online bachelor’s degrees programs, including computer engineering, biological sciences, economics, hospitality management, and more.

FIU ranks as the second best online university in large part because it received an overall A- grade from Niche. The school also received an A- grade for its professors and its value.

LeTourneau University ranks as the best online college in America, largely because it received very high marks from Niche for its diversity, academics, and value. Of all the schools that rank among the best online colleges, LeTourneau University is the only one with an admission rate under 50%.

Nearly 45% of students at the Longview, Texas-based school took all of their classes online in the fall 2019 semester, even before the COVID-19 pandemic moved nearly all classes online. LeTourneau University offers 19 bachelor’s degree programs and three associate’s degree programs to its online students.