This ranking is for readers interested in identifying schools with the cheapest online associate’s degree offerings for 2017.
Kaplan University
Brandman University
Ashford University
Methodology
1) We wanted to include schools from a variety of states, so we limited ourselves to selecting two schools from any given state.
2) Tuition data reported here is the average yearly tuition/fees of each school as found in the NCES College Navigator database. Is it intended as representative only, and actual tuition may differ between degrees within the same university.
3) We used in-state tuition where available. However, universities with the cheapest in-state tuition often have very cheap out-of-state tuition as well, and many online programs offer in-state tuition to out-of-state students. Check with the school’s admissions office for financial details and to know whether the program is offered to residents of your state.
4) To be considered, schools had to be four-year institutions accredited regionally and offering the majority of their associate’s degree online.
While hundreds of accredited institutions offer associate’s degree online programs, only 29 came in under $7,000 tuition/fees. Here are the 10 most affordable associate’s online degree programs for 2017.
#10. BISMARCK STATE COLLEGE
BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA
Bismarck State College online associate's degree
Bismarck State’s associate’s degrees online are military friendly and super affordable.
Website
Tuition/fees: $3,604
Our #10 school offers a ton of cheap online associate’s degrees. These include online associate’s degree in Administrative Assistant, Business Administration, Cybersecurity & Computer Networks, Criminal Justice, Information Processing Specialist, and many more. With 44% of its student body enrolled exclusively in online courses, BSC knows how to help students succeed online.
#9. SOUTH TEXAS COLLEGE
MCALLEN, TEXAS
south texas college online associate's degree
Most of South Texas College’s online associate’s degree students graduate debt- free–a proposition worth considering.
Website
Tuition/fees: $3,486
South Texas offers over 15 kinds of cheap online associate’s degrees and 30 online programs overall, including associate’s degrees in Criminal Justice, Philosophy, Political Science, and Computer Science. Check out all the information packed on their website to find the perfect associate’s degree online for you. South Texas offers one of the lowest tuition rates in the country and is military friendly. This could be the right path to start you off right in your career.
#8. NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE
TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN
Northwestern Michigan College online associate's degree
Check out Northwestern Michigan’s cheap associate’s online degree offerings.
Website
Tuition/fees: $3,330
Consider Northwestern Michigan’s associate’s degree online offerings: Nursing, General Studies, Science and Arts, Business Administration, and Criminal Justice. Future nurses, for example, can take all of their theoretical content courses online and then take labs and clinical studies in Traverse City. Business Administration majors can study as they look forward to serving customers or running offices. Either way NMC is a great deal.
#7. ATLANTA METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Atlanta Metropolitan State College online associate's degree
Website
Tuition/fees: $3,250
Atlanta Metropolitan State College offers affordable associate’s degrees online in Business Administration or General Education. Business Administration is a great way to start your office or business career, while General Education could position you to go for a bachelor’s after. Founded in 1974, AMSC enrolls over 3,000 students overall.
#6. GEORGIA HIGHLANDS COLLEGE
ROME, GEORGIA
Georgia Highlands College online associate's degree
Several options exist at Georgia Highlands for a very affordable associate’s degree online.
Website
Tuition/fees: $3,115
Georgia Highlands College offers several cheap online associate’s degrees, designed as transfer programs into bachelor’s degrees. Areas include History, Foreign Language, Teacher Education, and English, among others. The AS in Business online, for example, can be transferred directly into a Bachelor of Business Administration online at the University of Georgia.
#5. OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY-OKLAHOMA CITY
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA
OSU OKC online associate's degree
Start your health or business career at OSU with one of these cheap online associate’s degree programs.
Website
Tuition/fees: $2,859
Oklahoma State University at Oklahoma City offers some cheap associate’s online degree options not found at schools among our other finalists. These include an online associate’s degree in Public Service, Police Science, and Healthcare Administration, as well as General Business and Management. With an amazing price tag and these rare programs, OSU will prove to be a great career start for many students looking for an online associate’s degree.
#4. GREAT BASIN COLLEGE
ELKO, NEVADA
Great Basin College online associate's degree
Great Basin enrolls 3,800 students overall and has online associate’s degree students across the entire country.
Website
Tuition/fees: $2,805
Great Basin College considers itself a pioneer in online education delivery. Its cheap online associate’s degree offerings are worth a look. They include Early Childhood Education, Graphic Communication, Land Surveying/Geomatics, Entrepreneurship, and others. GBC’s helpful website will fill you in on all that’s available to get your career started.
#3. COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
college of southern nevada online associate's degree
College of Southern Nevada offers some rare and cheap associate’s degree online programs.
Tuition/fees: $2,805
At College of Southern Nevada you can start you career with a cheap associate’s degree online in areas such as Web Development, Programming, Ophthalmic Technology, Special Education, and much more. We list CSN at the #2 spot ahead of Great Basin College because it offers slightly more programs at the associate’s level. But Great Basin has associate’s degree online programs that CSN does not, so it would be good to take a look at both schools to know which is a better fit with your career goals.
#2. BROWARD COLLEGE
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
Broward College online associate's degree
Broward knows how to help students succeed in its online associate’s degree programs.
Tuition/fees: $2,753
Broward College encourages students to study online in order to save money (parking, childcare) as well as time (finish in 15 months!). These accelerated associate’s degree online programs come in the form of an AA with Business Focus, an AS in Business Administration, or an AS in Computer Systems Specialist. If you want to finish fast and take advantage of an amazing tuition rate, take a look at Broward’s online associate’s degree offerings.
#1. EASTERN FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE
COCOA, FLORIDA
eastern florida state college associate's degree online
Eastern Florida State’s tuition rates for their online associate’s degree programs propel their offerings to the top of our ranking.
Website
Tuition/fees: $2,496
Our #1 cheapest online associate’s degree programs are found at Eastern Florida State. If you want to go on to a bachelor’s degree after, take the Associate in Arts option. If you would like to position yourself right away for a career, go with the Associate in Science in Office Administration, Business Administration, Criminal Justice Technology, or Social and Human Services.
This concludes our ranking of the top 10 cheapest online associate’s degree programs for 2017.
Sources:
NCES College Navigator Database
By CVO Staff
January 2017
TOP 10 AFFORDABLE ASSOCIATE’S ONLINE DEGREE PROGRAMS 2017
FEATURED 2-YEAR ONLINE COLLEGESKaplan University
Brandman University
Ashford University
Methodology
1) We wanted to include schools from a variety of states, so we limited ourselves to selecting two schools from any given state.
2) Tuition data reported here is the average yearly tuition/fees of each school as found in the NCES College Navigator database. Is it intended as representative only, and actual tuition may differ between degrees within the same university.
3) We used in-state tuition where available. However, universities with the cheapest in-state tuition often have very cheap out-of-state tuition as well, and many online programs offer in-state tuition to out-of-state students. Check with the school’s admissions office for financial details and to know whether the program is offered to residents of your state.
4) To be considered, schools had to be four-year institutions accredited regionally and offering the majority of their associate’s degree online.
While hundreds of accredited institutions offer associate’s degree online programs, only 29 came in under $7,000 tuition/fees. Here are the 10 most affordable associate’s online degree programs for 2017.
#10. BISMARCK STATE COLLEGE
BISMARCK, NORTH DAKOTA
Bismarck State College online associate's degree
Bismarck State’s associate’s degrees online are military friendly and super affordable.
Website
Tuition/fees: $3,604
Our #10 school offers a ton of cheap online associate’s degrees. These include online associate’s degree in Administrative Assistant, Business Administration, Cybersecurity & Computer Networks, Criminal Justice, Information Processing Specialist, and many more. With 44% of its student body enrolled exclusively in online courses, BSC knows how to help students succeed online.
#9. SOUTH TEXAS COLLEGE
MCALLEN, TEXAS
south texas college online associate's degree
Most of South Texas College’s online associate’s degree students graduate debt- free–a proposition worth considering.
Website
Tuition/fees: $3,486
South Texas offers over 15 kinds of cheap online associate’s degrees and 30 online programs overall, including associate’s degrees in Criminal Justice, Philosophy, Political Science, and Computer Science. Check out all the information packed on their website to find the perfect associate’s degree online for you. South Texas offers one of the lowest tuition rates in the country and is military friendly. This could be the right path to start you off right in your career.
#8. NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE
TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN
Northwestern Michigan College online associate's degree
Check out Northwestern Michigan’s cheap associate’s online degree offerings.
Website
Tuition/fees: $3,330
Consider Northwestern Michigan’s associate’s degree online offerings: Nursing, General Studies, Science and Arts, Business Administration, and Criminal Justice. Future nurses, for example, can take all of their theoretical content courses online and then take labs and clinical studies in Traverse City. Business Administration majors can study as they look forward to serving customers or running offices. Either way NMC is a great deal.
#7. ATLANTA METROPOLITAN STATE COLLEGE
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Atlanta Metropolitan State College online associate's degree
Website
Tuition/fees: $3,250
Atlanta Metropolitan State College offers affordable associate’s degrees online in Business Administration or General Education. Business Administration is a great way to start your office or business career, while General Education could position you to go for a bachelor’s after. Founded in 1974, AMSC enrolls over 3,000 students overall.
#6. GEORGIA HIGHLANDS COLLEGE
ROME, GEORGIA
Georgia Highlands College online associate's degree
Several options exist at Georgia Highlands for a very affordable associate’s degree online.
Website
Tuition/fees: $3,115
Georgia Highlands College offers several cheap online associate’s degrees, designed as transfer programs into bachelor’s degrees. Areas include History, Foreign Language, Teacher Education, and English, among others. The AS in Business online, for example, can be transferred directly into a Bachelor of Business Administration online at the University of Georgia.
#5. OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY-OKLAHOMA CITY
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA
OSU OKC online associate's degree
Start your health or business career at OSU with one of these cheap online associate’s degree programs.
Website
Tuition/fees: $2,859
Oklahoma State University at Oklahoma City offers some cheap associate’s online degree options not found at schools among our other finalists. These include an online associate’s degree in Public Service, Police Science, and Healthcare Administration, as well as General Business and Management. With an amazing price tag and these rare programs, OSU will prove to be a great career start for many students looking for an online associate’s degree.
#4. GREAT BASIN COLLEGE
ELKO, NEVADA
Great Basin College online associate's degree
Great Basin enrolls 3,800 students overall and has online associate’s degree students across the entire country.
Website
Tuition/fees: $2,805
Great Basin College considers itself a pioneer in online education delivery. Its cheap online associate’s degree offerings are worth a look. They include Early Childhood Education, Graphic Communication, Land Surveying/Geomatics, Entrepreneurship, and others. GBC’s helpful website will fill you in on all that’s available to get your career started.
#3. COLLEGE OF SOUTHERN NEVADA
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
college of southern nevada online associate's degree
College of Southern Nevada offers some rare and cheap associate’s degree online programs.
Tuition/fees: $2,805
At College of Southern Nevada you can start you career with a cheap associate’s degree online in areas such as Web Development, Programming, Ophthalmic Technology, Special Education, and much more. We list CSN at the #2 spot ahead of Great Basin College because it offers slightly more programs at the associate’s level. But Great Basin has associate’s degree online programs that CSN does not, so it would be good to take a look at both schools to know which is a better fit with your career goals.
#2. BROWARD COLLEGE
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
Broward College online associate's degree
Broward knows how to help students succeed in its online associate’s degree programs.
Tuition/fees: $2,753
Broward College encourages students to study online in order to save money (parking, childcare) as well as time (finish in 15 months!). These accelerated associate’s degree online programs come in the form of an AA with Business Focus, an AS in Business Administration, or an AS in Computer Systems Specialist. If you want to finish fast and take advantage of an amazing tuition rate, take a look at Broward’s online associate’s degree offerings.
#1. EASTERN FLORIDA STATE COLLEGE
COCOA, FLORIDA
eastern florida state college associate's degree online
Eastern Florida State’s tuition rates for their online associate’s degree programs propel their offerings to the top of our ranking.
Website
Tuition/fees: $2,496
Our #1 cheapest online associate’s degree programs are found at Eastern Florida State. If you want to go on to a bachelor’s degree after, take the Associate in Arts option. If you would like to position yourself right away for a career, go with the Associate in Science in Office Administration, Business Administration, Criminal Justice Technology, or Social and Human Services.
This concludes our ranking of the top 10 cheapest online associate’s degree programs for 2017.
Sources:
NCES College Navigator Database
By CVO Staff
January 2017