The U.S. News Short List, separate from our overall rankings, is a regular series that magnifies individual data points in hopes of providing students and parents a way to find which undergraduate or graduate programs excel or have room to grow in specific areas. Be sure to explore The Short List: College and The Short List: Grad School to find data that matters to you in your college or grad school search.
Pursuing an online bachelor’s degree can save students money by eliminating commuting costs and allowing students to keep income from their jobs while going to school.
Tuition is another matter: A 2013 U.S. News analysis of about 300 ranked programs found that when it comes to paying in-state tuition at a public school, it’s more expensive on a per-credit basis to take an online undergraduate course than a comparable on-campus course.
That said, if students are willing to do their research, they can find a program that’s easy on the wallet.
[Explore the list of the Best Online Bachelor’s Programs.]
Among the 97 ranked public online bachelor’s programs that submitted data to U.S. News in an annual survey, the average in-state, per-credit cost was $282 during the 2013-2014 school year. The average in-state total program cost was $34,038.
Those figures were much lower at the 10 online bachelor’s programs with the lowest in-state tuition. Students in those programs paid an average in-state total program cost of about $14,460 and an average in-state, per-credit cost of about $119.
Massachusetts’ Fitchburg State University charged students the cheapest tuition, requiring only $80 per in-state credit. Florida had three schools on the list, while Oklahoma and North Carolina had two each.
[Learn about how to pay for online education.]
University of Illinois–Chicago was at the other end of the spectrum, with a total program cost of $68,640 per year — the highest among all ranked online programs that reported the data.
While that may seem like a very large price tag, it’s likely that many students will never pay the full costs of the program, since online students often enter with some credits already applied toward their degrees.
Online students should also realize that per-credit costs change over time, so if students take several years to complete a degree, they may end up paying more.
Below are the 10 least expensive public online bachelor’s programs based on per-credit costs and the number of required credits. The total program cost doesn’t take into account any scholarships or other forms of student aid, nor does it include any of the extra fees that schools may charge.
Schools labeled RNP, or Rank Not Published, fell in the bottom one-fourth of their ranking category. U.S. News calculates a numerical rank for RNP schools, but does not publish them. Unranked schools, which did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not considered for this report.
| School (state) | Credits needed to graduate | In-state, per-credit cost | In-state, total cost | U.S. News rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitchburg State University (MA) |
120 | $80 | $9,600 | 120 |
| Daytona State College (FL) | 120 | $92 | $11,040 | 7 |
| University of Florida | 120 | $105 | $12,600 | 5 |
| University of West Florida | 120 | $105 | $12,600 | 102 |
| Rogers State University (OK) | 120 | $111 | $13,320 | 117 |
| Cameron University (OK) | 124 | $115 | $14,260 | RNP |
| Appalachian State University (NC) |
120 | $128 | $15,360 | 157 |
| East Carolina University (NC) | 126 | $134 | $16,884 | 141 |
| Valley City State University (ND) |
120 | $161 | $19,320 | 138 |
| Pittsburg State University (KS) |
125 | $157 | $19,625 | 179 |
School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed 282 public, private and for-profit schools for our 2014 Best Online Bachelor’s Programs rankings. Schools reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News’ data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of these survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Online Bachelor’s Programs rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. These data are specific to schools’ online bachelor’s degree program offerings and have no influence over U.S. News’ Best Colleges rankings assessing traditional bachelor’s programs. The tuition data above are correct as of Oct. 7, 2014.
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10 Least Expensive Public Online Bachelor’s Programs originally appeared on usnews.com