Best Self-Paced Online Colleges

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Self-paced online col­leges offer great flex­i­bil­i­ty, allow­ing you to study when and where it fits your sched­ule best.
• These pro­grams are often more afford­able than tra­di­tion­al col­leges, with low­er tuition costs and no need for hous­ing or commuting.
• Many self-paced online schools, like UMGC and SNHU, pro­vide exten­sive sup­port ser­vices, includ­ing tutor­ing, career help, and tech support.
• Accred­i­ta­tion is cru­cial for ensur­ing that the degree you earn from a self-paced online col­lege is respect­ed by employ­ers and qual­i­fies for finan­cial aid.

Are you think­ing about going back to school but wor­ried about fit­ting class­es into your busy life? Self-paced online col­leges might be just what you’re look­ing for! These schools let you learn on your own terms and your own sched­ule. And that makes it eas­i­er to bal­ance work, fam­i­ly, and education.

In this arti­cle, we’ll explore some of the best self-paced online col­leges out there. We’ll look at what makes them great and how they can help you reach your goals. Whether you’re just start­ing your col­lege jour­ney or look­ing to fin­ish a degree you start­ed years ago, there’s an option for you.

Why Choose Self-Paced Online Learning?

Self-paced online pro­grams are per­fect for work­ing adults. Here’s why:

• Flex­i­bil­i­ty: You can study when it works best for you — ear­ly morn­ing, late at night, or on weekends.

• Learn at Your Own Speed: Move quick­ly through stuff you already know and take more time with new material.

• Keep Your Job: You don’t have to quit work­ing to go back to school.

• Save Mon­ey: Many online pro­grams cost less than tra­di­tion­al colleges.

• Study from Any­where: All you need is a com­put­er and an inter­net connection.

What to Look for in a Self-Paced Online College

When you’re check­ing out self-paced online col­leges, keep these things in mind:

Accreditation

Make sure the school is rec­og­nized by offi­cial accred­it­ing orga­ni­za­tions. This means your degree will be respect­ed by employ­ers. It also ensures you qual­i­fy for fed­er­al finan­cial aid.

Variety of Programs

Look for a school that offers degrees in the field you’re inter­est­ed in. Check the cours­es and elec­tives offered for each pro­gram. The cur­ricu­lum can vary wide­ly between schools. So be sure the school offers class­es that help sup­port your goals.

Support Services

Good online col­leges offer tutor­ing, career help, and tech sup­port. Many also offer online coun­sel­ing, ded­i­cat­ed advis­ing, and oppor­tu­ni­ties for hands-on experiences.

User-Friendly Technology

The online learn­ing sys­tem should be easy to use. The learn­ing man­age­ment sys­tem (LMS) is where you will spend most of your time. You’ll lis­ten to lec­tures, com­plete your assign­ments, and inter­act with peers and instruc­tors here. So it’s impor­tant that you feel com­fort­able with the tech­nol­o­gy used. Many schools allow you to take a free class to check out the LMS.

Affordable Tuition

Com­pare costs between schools, but remem­ber to look at the whole pic­ture, not just the price per cred­it. Con­sid­er any addi­tion­al fees and expenses.

Transfer Credits and Prior Learning Assessment

If you’ve already tak­en some col­lege class­es, find out how many cred­its will trans­fer. Some schools also allow cred­it for life expe­ri­ence. This is called Pri­or Learn­ing Assess­ment (PLS). PLS is a way for col­leges to give you cred­it for things you already know or can do. This could be from your job, mil­i­tary ser­vice, or oth­er expe­ri­ences. By prov­ing your knowl­edge through tests or port­fo­lios, you can earn col­lege cred­its with­out tak­ing class­es. This can help you fin­ish your degree faster and save mon­ey on tuition.

Financial Aid and Assistance

Check if the school offers schol­ar­ships, grants, or accepts fed­er­al finan­cial aid. Most stu­dents will qual­i­fy for some type of finan­cial assis­tance. You can also look at schol­ar­ships from out­side sources. Many col­leges have afford­able pay­ment plans. You may even get tuition help through your employ­er. Fac­tor in all of these options when look­ing at the over­all cost of your degree.

Now, let’s look at some of the top self-paced online colleges.

10 Excellent Self-Paced Online Colleges

1. University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC)

UMGC has been offer­ing online edu­ca­tion for over twen­ty years. It fea­tures more than 135 degrees and cer­tifi­cates designed for busy adults.

What’s Great About UMGC:

• Flex­i­ble sched­ule with no set log-in times
• 8‑week cours­es let you focus on few­er class­es at once
• Most cours­es use free online mate­ri­als instead of expen­sive textbooks
• Afford­able tuition, espe­cial­ly for in-state and mil­i­tary students
• Lots of sup­port ser­vices like advis­ing and career help

UMGC stands out for its com­mit­ment to mak­ing edu­ca­tion acces­si­ble to every­one. Its fac­ul­ty mem­bers are not just pro­fes­sors but also prac­ti­tion­ers in their fields. So, they bring real-world expe­ri­ence to the vir­tu­al class­room. This approach ensures that stu­dents learn not just the­o­ry. They also gain prac­ti­cal skills they can apply imme­di­ate­ly in their careers.

Pop­u­lar Programs:

• Busi­ness Administration
• Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty
• Psy­chol­o­gy
• Crim­i­nal Justice
• Nurs­ing (RN to BSN)

UMGC is espe­cial­ly good for mil­i­tary mem­bers and their fam­i­lies, as it has spe­cial tuition rates and sup­port services.

2. Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)

SNHU is a pri­vate, non­prof­it school known for mak­ing col­lege acces­si­ble and afford­able. They have over 200 pro­grams, includ­ing more than 150 bach­e­lor’s degrees.

What’s Great About SNHU:

• Mul­ti­ple start dates through­out the year
• Low online tuition rate of $330 per credit
• No appli­ca­tion fee and no need for stan­dard­ized test scores
• Can trans­fer up to 90 cred­its for bach­e­lor’s degrees
• Lots of stu­dent sup­port, includ­ing tutor­ing and a writ­ing center

SNHU’s com­mit­ment to stu­dent suc­cess goes beyond just offer­ing cours­es. They pro­vide a per­son­al aca­d­e­m­ic advi­sor to every stu­dent. This can help you nav­i­gate the chal­lenges of online learn­ing. And it ensures that each learn­er stays on track to grad­u­ate. This per­son­al­ized atten­tion sets SNHU apart and con­tributes to its high stu­dent sat­is­fac­tion rates.

Pop­u­lar Programs:

• Busi­ness Administration
• Psy­chol­o­gy
• Infor­ma­tion Technology
• Health­care Administration
• Crim­i­nal Justice

SNHU has been named the “Most Inno­v­a­tive Uni­ver­si­ty in the North” by U.S. News & World Report.

3. Penn State World Campus

Penn State World Cam­pus brings the qual­i­ty of Penn State Uni­ver­si­ty to online learn­ers. They offer more than 200 degree and cer­tifi­cate programs.

What’s Great About Penn State World Campus:

• Same high-qual­i­ty edu­ca­tion as on-cam­pus Penn State programs
• Flex­i­ble, asyn­chro­nous courses
• Com­pre­hen­sive sup­port ser­vices, includ­ing career counseling
• Access to Penn State’s huge alum­ni network
• Wide range of degree programs

One of the biggest advan­tages of Penn State World Cam­pus is the pow­er of the Penn State name. Grad­u­ates receive the same diplo­ma as on-cam­pus stu­dents, which car­ries weight with employ­ers world­wide. This, com­bined with access to Penn State’s vast alum­ni net­work, can open doors to career oppor­tu­ni­ties that might oth­er­wise be out of reach.

Pop­u­lar Programs:

• Busi­ness Administration
• Psy­chol­o­gy
• Infor­ma­tion Sci­ences and Technology
• Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Ana­lyt­ics and Operations
• Nurs­ing (RN to BSN)

Tuition rates vary based on your pro­gram and how many cred­its you’ve com­plet­ed. How­ev­er, you can expect to pay around $600-$700 per credit.

4. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Illinois Online)

Illi­nois Online offers a mix of for­mal degree pro­grams and Mas­sive Open Online Cours­es (MOOCs).

What’s Great About Illi­nois Online:

• High-qual­i­ty edu­ca­tion from a top-ranked university
• Offers free MOOCs on a wide range of topics
• For­mal online pro­grams taught by on-cam­pus faculty
• Com­pet­i­tive tuition rate of $424 per cred­it for under­grad­u­ate courses

What sets Illi­nois Online apart is its inno­v­a­tive approach to online edu­ca­tion. By offer­ing both tra­di­tion­al degree pro­grams and MOOCs, they cater to a wide range of learn­ers. This includes those seek­ing full degrees, pro­fes­sion­als look­ing to upskill in spe­cif­ic areas, and casu­al learn­ers seek­ing per­son­al enrich­ment. This flex­i­bil­i­ty allows stu­dents to cus­tomize their learn­ing expe­ri­ence to fit their unique needs and goals.

Under­grad­u­ate Degree Programs:

• Ear­ly Child­hood Pro­fes­sion­al Education
• Earth, Soci­ety & Envi­ron­men­tal Sustainability
• Bach­e­lor of Social Work

Illi­nois Online is a pio­neer in MOOCs, offer­ing over 190 cours­es that have reached more than 7 mil­lion learn­ers world­wide. A few options include:

• Psy­che­delics In The Clin­i­cal Set­ting: Psilocybin
• Mod­ern Amer­i­can Poetry
• Emerg­ing Tech­nol­o­gy, Dis­rup­tion, And Ai
• 3d Print­ing 
• Arti­fi­cial Intel­li­gence In Wealth Man­age­ment & Finan­cial Planning
• Sus­tain­able Food Systems
• Self-Care And Stress Management
• Japan­ese Arts And Aesthetics
• Weath­er Phe­nom­e­na And Hazards
• Shake­speare On Film

5. Thomas Edison State University (TESU)

TESU is all about flex­i­ble, self-paced edu­ca­tion for adult learn­ers. They’re experts at help­ing stu­dents turn life and work expe­ri­ence into col­lege credit.

What’s Great About TESU:

• Mul­ti­ple ways to earn cred­it, includ­ing work expe­ri­ence and pro­fes­sion­al certifications
• Sev­er­al flex­i­ble course for­mats to fit dif­fer­ent learn­ing styles
• “Expe­ri­ence Mat­ters” phi­los­o­phy helps stu­dents earn an aver­age of 38 cred­its from pri­or learning
• Mil­i­tary-friend­ly with a spe­cial degree com­ple­tion pro­gram for ser­vice members

TESU’s approach to edu­ca­tion is tru­ly unique. They under­stand that learn­ing hap­pens every­where, not just in a class­room. They have exten­sive exper­tise in assess­ing and cred­it­ing pri­or learn­ing. This means that stu­dents can save sig­nif­i­cant time and mon­ey on their degrees by get­ting cred­it for what they already know. 

This can be a game-chang­er for adults who have years of work expe­ri­ence but no degree to show for it.

Pop­u­lar Programs:

• Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion (BSBA) with var­i­ous specializations
• Lib­er­al Arts and Sciences
• Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty
• Nurs­ing (RN to BSN)
• Crim­i­nal Justice

TESU offers com­pet­i­tive tuition rates, with full-time flat-rate options and per-cred­it rates for part-time students.

6. Western Governors University (WGU)

WGU is known for its com­pe­ten­cy-based edu­ca­tion mod­el, which focus­es on what you know rather than how long you spend in class.

What’s Great About WGU:

• Flat-rate tuition per six-month term, not per credit
• Move through cours­es as quick­ly as you mas­ter the material
• No set class times or schedules
• Tuition rates are about 48% low­er than the nation­al aver­age for online universities
• Strong empha­sis on career-rel­e­vant skills

WGU’s com­pe­ten­cy-based mod­el is a game-chang­er for many stu­dents, espe­cial­ly those with pri­or knowl­edge or expe­ri­ence in their field. This approach allows stu­dents to accel­er­ate through famil­iar mate­r­i­al and spend more time on chal­leng­ing con­cepts. As a result, moti­vat­ed stu­dents can poten­tial­ly com­plete their degrees faster and at a low­er cost than in tra­di­tion­al programs. 

This mod­el also ensures that every WGU grad­u­ate has demon­strat­ed mas­tery of their field, which can be a sig­nif­i­cant advan­tage in the job market.

Pop­u­lar Programs:

• Busi­ness (var­i­ous specializations)
• Infor­ma­tion Technology
• Edu­ca­tion
• Health­care and Nursing

In 2023, 47% of WGU under­grad­u­ates com­plet­ed their degrees with­out tak­ing out stu­dent loans.

7. University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC)

UAGC offers over 50 online degree pro­grams at all lev­els, from asso­ciate to doc­tor­al degrees.

What’s Great About UAGC:

• Accel­er­at­ed five-week cours­es for undergrads
• Take one class at a time
• Can trans­fer approved cred­its from oth­er schools
• Offers cred­it for work/life expe­ri­ence and mil­i­tary service
• No stan­dard­ized tests are required for admission

UAGC’s approach of tak­ing one class at a time in accel­er­at­ed for­mats can be par­tic­u­lar­ly ben­e­fi­cial for work­ing adults. This struc­ture allows stu­dents to focus inten­sive­ly on a sin­gle sub­ject, poten­tial­ly lead­ing to bet­ter under­stand­ing and reten­tion. It also makes it eas­i­er to bal­ance school with work and fam­i­ly respon­si­bil­i­ties, as stu­dents only need to jug­gle one course dead­line at a time. 

The short­er course length means stu­dents can see progress quick­ly, which can be moti­vat­ing and help main­tain momen­tum toward degree completion.

Pop­u­lar Pro­gram Areas:

• Busi­ness
• Edu­ca­tion
• Health­care
• Infor­ma­tion Technology
• Social and Behav­ioral Sciences

UAGC charges $460 per cred­it for all cours­es and offers var­i­ous finan­cial aid options.

8. Maryville University Online

Maryville focus­es on prepar­ing stu­dents for future careers with flex­i­ble, inno­v­a­tive online programs.

What’s Great About Maryville:

• No entrance exams or appli­ca­tion fees
• Trans­fer-friend­ly policies
• 100% online coursework
• Rec­og­nized as an Apple Dis­tin­guished School
• Com­pre­hen­sive stu­dent sup­port services

Maryville’s recog­ni­tion as an Apple Dis­tin­guished School sets it apart in the world of online edu­ca­tion. This des­ig­na­tion indi­cates that Maryville is at the fore­front of using tech­nol­o­gy to enhance learn­ing. Stu­dents ben­e­fit from cut­ting-edge dig­i­tal tools and resources, prepar­ing them not just for their cho­sen field but for the increas­ing­ly tech-dri­ven work­place of the future. 

This focus on tech­nol­o­gy inte­gra­tion ensures that Maryville grad­u­ates are well-equipped to adapt to rapid­ly chang­ing work environments.

Pop­u­lar Programs:

• Busi­ness
• Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty
• Health­care
• Nurs­ing
• Com­put­er Science

Maryville charges $540 per cred­it for under­grad­u­ate pro­grams and offers var­i­ous career-focused resources to help stu­dents succeed.

9. Liberty University Online

Lib­er­ty is a pri­vate, non­prof­it Chris­t­ian uni­ver­si­ty offer­ing over 600 online programs.

What’s Great About Liberty:

• Afford­able tuition: $390 per cred­it for under­grads, with mil­i­tary discounts
• Can trans­fer up to 75% of cred­its for bach­e­lor’s degrees
• No stan­dard­ized test­ing is required for admission
• Eight dif­fer­ent start dates per year
• Most class­es last eight weeks

Lib­er­ty’s Chris­t­ian world­view sets it apart from many oth­er online uni­ver­si­ties. While stu­dents of all back­grounds are wel­come, the cur­ricu­lum is taught from a Chris­t­ian per­spec­tive. This can par­tic­u­lar­ly appeal to stu­dents seek­ing an edu­ca­tion that aligns with their faith. How­ev­er, it’s worth not­ing that Lib­er­ty’s aca­d­e­m­ic pro­grams are rig­or­ous and respect­ed, prepar­ing stu­dents for suc­cess in sec­u­lar as well as faith-based environments. 

The uni­ver­si­ty’s vast array of online pro­grams means that stu­dents can find spe­cial­ized degrees that might not be avail­able at oth­er online schools.

Pop­u­lar Programs:

• Busi­ness
• Psy­chol­o­gy
• Edu­ca­tion
• Nurs­ing
• Crim­i­nal Justice

Lib­er­ty pro­vides var­i­ous stu­dent resources, includ­ing an online writ­ing cen­ter, IT help desk, and more.

10. Colorado State University Global

CSU Glob­al is a 100% online insti­tu­tion designed for work­ing adults. It was the first ful­ly accred­it­ed, 100% online state uni­ver­si­ty in the coun­try. What makes it even more spe­cial is that it is part of the well-known Col­orado State Uni­ver­si­ty System.

What’s Great About CSU Global:

• Ful­ly flex­i­ble pro­grams with no set class times
• Tuition rate locked in from enroll­ment through graduation
• Same tuition for all stu­dents: $375 per credit
• Com­pre­hen­sive stu­dent sup­port, includ­ing on-demand tutoring
• Empha­sis on prac­ti­cal, career-focused learning

CSU Glob­al stands out for its com­mit­ment to long-term stu­dent suc­cess. Their tuition lock guar­an­tee means stu­dents can bud­get con­fi­dent­ly for their entire degree pro­gram with­out wor­ry­ing about sur­prise increas­es. Addi­tion­al­ly, CSU Glob­al designs its cur­ricu­lum with direct input from indus­try lead­ers, ensur­ing that what stu­dents learn is imme­di­ate­ly applic­a­ble in the workplace. 

The school has a career-focused approach and an empha­sis on devel­op­ing soft skills like crit­i­cal think­ing and com­mu­ni­ca­tion. This helps pre­pare grad­u­ates not just for their first job after grad­u­a­tion but for long-term career success. 

Pop­u­lar Programs:

• Account­ing
• Com­put­er Science
• Crim­i­nal Justice
• Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty
• Finance
• Health­care Admin­is­tra­tion & Management
• Infor­ma­tion Technology

You’ll have dif­fer­ent mate­ri­als in your online class­es to help you learn. These include videos, read­ings, and hands-on exer­cis­es. You don’t have to attend class at a spe­cif­ic time or place. But you do need to turn in some work each week. You’ll post in online dis­cus­sions by Thurs­day and fin­ish oth­er home­work by Sunday.

How to Enroll in a Self-Paced Online Program

Ready to get start­ed? Here’s how to enroll in a self-paced online program:

Choose Your School and Pro­gram: Based on what you’ve learned, pick the school and degree that best fits your needs and goals.

Check Admis­sion Require­ments: Make sure you meet the basic require­ments for the pro­gram you’re inter­est­ed in.

Gath­er Nec­es­sary Doc­u­ments: This might include tran­scripts from pre­vi­ous schools, proof of high school grad­u­a­tion, and iden­ti­fi­ca­tion documents.

Apply Online: Most schools have a sim­ple online appli­ca­tion process.

Sub­mit Tran­scripts: If you’ve attend­ed col­lege before, have your offi­cial tran­scripts sent to your new school.

Apply for Finan­cial Aid: Com­plete the Free Appli­ca­tion for Fed­er­al Stu­dent Aid (FAFSA) and research school-spe­cif­ic scholarships.

Speak with an Advi­sor: Many online schools assign you an advi­sor to help guide you through the enroll­ment process and beyond.

Reg­is­ter for Class­es: Once you’re accept­ed, work with your advi­sor to choose your first set of classes.

Set Up Your Online Account: Get famil­iar with the school’s online learn­ing plat­form before class­es start.

Start Learn­ing: Begin your first course and embark on your edu­ca­tion­al journey!

Tips for Success in Self-Paced Online Learning:

• Cre­ate a study sched­ule and stick to it
• Set up a ded­i­cat­ed study space
• Stay in touch with your pro­fes­sors and classmates
• Take advan­tage of all the sup­port ser­vices your school offers
• Break big assign­ments into small­er, man­age­able tasks
• Cel­e­brate your achieve­ments along the way

Conclusion

Whether you’re look­ing to advance in your cur­rent career, switch to a new field, or sim­ply achieve a per­son­al goal, these top self-paced online col­leges can help you get there. Remem­ber, it’s nev­er too late to invest in your edu­ca­tion and your future.

So, why wait? Take the first step today. Research these schools, reach out to their admis­sions teams, and start your jour­ney toward earn­ing your degree. Your future self will thank you!