There are many reasons online education has grown so much in the past several years. Expanding technology and more available internet access has opened up doors for online education that once were not available to many.
In fact, lots of people who could not otherwise attend college are able to take college courses and even obtain college degrees thanks to the growth of online education. There simply is no other option for them.
Still more students, who could take online or on-campus courses, now have more options available to them. Online courses allow them to fit college into their complex work and family schedules. For them, online education is a more convenient option.
Flexibility in scheduling isn't just confined to what hours on the clock you'll take online classes or earn an online degree. Many students are better engaged in their course work because they can log on when they are ready, not when a class schedule says it's time to get to work. But not only are they convenient and flexible, online classes can save money on gas, bus fare, and babysitting costs. And online courses can save time.
Think of all the time you spend driving to campus in traffic, finding a parking space, walking to class; then you still have to get home! With online classes you can be actually working on your class instead of spending so much time getting there.
Online education is accessible, convenient, flexible, affordable and efficient. But it also takes more responsibility and self-motivation. Students taking online classes have a greater responsibility for their own success than students in traditional classroom settings. A successful online learner is…
- Self-motivated:
Online students must be able to log in regularly, find details about assignments, and seek out help when needed.
- Self-disciplined:
Online students must be able to work on a schedule without getting behind.
- Dedicated:
Online students must set aside enough time to each course. Online classes require at least as much time as traditional classes, and often more. A typical 3-credit online course can easily require 9-12 hours per week.
- A good reader and writer:
Online classes require more reading and writing than traditional, on-campus classes where more can be communicated verbally.
- Adept with computer skills:
Online students must be comfortable sending and receiving e-mail, navigating web pages, and using computer software, such as word processors.
Able to access a computer: Online students must have convenient, dependable access to a computer that meets the technical requirements of the school's learning management system.
There are also many good reasons to attend a community college. These reasons often align with a student's reasons for choosing online education. Convenience, flexibility, affordability, and efficiency have always been hallmarks of community colleges. The nation's 1600-plus community colleges have been leading the way for a long time in these very things.
Check out College Choice's ranking of the Best Community Colleges.
As the name implies, community colleges serve communities. They grant two-year associate degrees, certificates, credentials, and diplomas that prepare graduates for a fulfilling career or successful transfer to a baccalaureate program. Many offer continuing and adult education courses. Some offer dual-credit programs to area high school students.
In these ways and many more, community colleges—often called junior colleges, city colleges, or technical colleges—have a tremendous impact on their region and its population. And now with the tremendous growth and quality of online education at these institutions that have been at the front line of student service for years, community colleges find their reach well beyond their service areas.
What Are the Best Online Community Colleges?
College Choice has correlated data from Aspen Institute's College Excellence Program and individual community colleges to compile a list of the 30 best community colleges offering online associate degrees. We considered several factors in developing an institutional performance score, including first year retention rates, three-year graduation rates, credentials awarded, etc.
We also factored percentage of non-traditional and minority students, percentage of Pell grants, and minority graduation rates in order to create a diversity score. Finally we compared online tuition rates to give us a sense of the financial investment students would need to make.
Since much of the focus at College Choice is on helping you choose a college, we did not consider schools that did not offer any online associate degrees. Online courses offer greater flexibility, but those schools offering degrees online increase their appeal to those students wanting more than just a few courses here and there. For that reason, schools were given a procedural bump based on the number of associate degree programs they offered fully online. In the end, we believe these thirty schools represent the best of what can be a wise decision for many prospective college students.
Rankings
See our rankings methodology page.
