10 Cheapest Online Bachelor’s Degrees

Key Infor­ma­tion:

• Clay­ton State Uni­ver­si­ty is the #1 top school for an afford­able online bach­e­lor’s degree.
• Many uni­ver­si­ties now offer afford­able online bachelor’s degrees, mak­ing high­er edu­ca­tion more acces­si­ble to a wider audi­ence, includ­ing work­ing adults.
• There’s a wide range of afford­able online pro­grams avail­able, from Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion to Health­care and Engineering.
• Online pro­grams often offer low­er total costs com­pared to tra­di­tion­al on-cam­pus pro­grams, with­out com­pro­mis­ing the qual­i­ty of education.

There is no doubt that the face of high­er edu­ca­tion is chang­ing in our world. With the ris­ing cost of col­lege, more stu­dents are opt­ing out of the tra­di­tion­al col­lege expe­ri­ence in favor of online education. 

“Online Report Card: Track­ing Online Edu­ca­tion in the Unit­ed States” is the annu­al sur­vey of high­er edu­ca­tion by the Bab­son Sur­vey Research Group. The team dis­cov­ered an inverse rela­tion­ship between dwin­dling high­er edu­ca­tion enroll­ment and soar­ing online enrollments.

The num­ber of stu­dents tak­ing online cours­es grew to 5.4 mil­lion nation­al­ly, con­tin­u­ing a growth trend that has been con­sis­tent for 13 years. More than a quar­ter of high­er edu­ca­tion stu­dents (25.8 per­cent) are enrolled in at least one online course.

“The trend of increas­ing dis­tance edu­ca­tion enroll­ments in the face of declin­ing over­all high­er ed enroll­ments sug­gests an impor­tant shift in the Amer­i­can high­er edu­ca­tion land­scape, with con­tem­po­rary learn­ers lean­ing into online options,” said Kath­leen S. Ives, chief exec­u­tive offi­cer and exec­u­tive direc­tor of the Online Learn­ing Con­sor­tium. “The major­i­ty of aca­d­e­m­ic lead­ers rec­og­nize this and under­stand online learn­ing is crit­i­cal to their insti­tu­tion’s long-term strategy.”

Col­leges and uni­ver­si­ties are forced to adjust to this trend and offer online class­es and degrees. In the past, online degrees were con­sid­ered “less than” diplo­mas earned on cam­pus. How­ev­er, the trend in online edu­ca­tion con­tin­ues to grow, and most Amer­i­can uni­ver­si­ties now offer online degrees that are aca­d­e­m­i­cal­ly equiv­a­lent to their brick-and-mor­tar counterparts. 

What are the most beneficial aspects of learning online?

One of the major ben­e­fits of online edu­ca­tion is it tends to be more afford­able and acces­si­ble than on-cam­pus diplo­mas. Stu­dents can often work at their own pace and with­in their own time frame, mak­ing online degrees one of the best and most afford­able ways to earn a degree.

Online degrees are espe­cial­ly appeal­ing to work­ing adults who need to com­plete their col­lege degrees. On aver­age, 95% of new appli­cants have pre­vi­ous­ly tak­en col­lege cred­its and the aver­age age of online stu­dents is 34. This is the case for many rea­sons, but there is lit­tle doubt that online edu­ca­tion is the way of the future, espe­cial­ly for the work­ing adult. 

As schools strive to out-com­pete one anoth­er, their course and degree offer­ings expand, flex­i­ble options grow, and the cost comes down. There is no bet­ter time to be an online student.

Degree-Spe­cif­ic Most Afford­able Online Pro­gram Rankings

• Bach­e­lor’s in Train­ing and Development
• Health­care Admin­is­tra­tion Bach­e­lor’s Degree Programs
• Bach­e­lor’s in Accounting
• Bach­e­lor’s in Graph­ic Design
• Cyber­se­cu­ri­ty Degree Bach­e­lor Programs
• Engi­neer­ing Degree Bach­e­lor Programs
• Min­istry Degree Bach­e­lor Programs
• Media Com­mu­ni­ca­tions Degree Bach­e­lor Programs
• Infor­ma­tion Tech­nol­o­gy Degree Bach­e­lor Programs
• Mar­ket­ing Degree Bach­e­lor Programs
• Sports Man­age­ment Degree Bach­e­lor Programs
• Foren­sic Sci­ence Degree Bach­e­lor Programs

Methodology

We have com­piled a list of the 10 Most Afford­able Online Bachelor’s Degrees in the nation. The list was com­piled pure­ly by tuition per cred­it hour, addi­tion­al fees were not cal­cu­lat­ed into the cost. Data was col­lect­ed from the Nation­al Cen­ter for Edu­ca­tion Sta­tis­tics and school websites. 

Only non-prof­it schools were cho­sen, and in order for a school to have made the list, they had to offer a vari­ety of bachelor’s degrees. It should also be not­ed that online edu­ca­tion require­ments change from state to state, and options may be lim­it­ed depend­ing on the insti­tu­tion cho­sen and your state of residence. 

We hope this list is valu­able to you as you search for the most afford­able path to your col­lege degree!

1. CLAYTON STATE UNIVERSITY

For those who are inter­est­ed in dis­tance edu­ca­tion, Clay­ton State Uni­ver­si­ty offers the most afford­able online bach­e­lor’s degrees in the nation. The low cost of only $169.33 per cred­it hour is hard to beat. 

• Loca­tion: Mor­row, GA
• Cost per Cred­it Hour: $169.33 eTu­ition
• Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dent Pop­u­la­tion: 3,680
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, two year cer­tifi­cate, asso­ciate degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Mas­ter’s degree
• Deliv­ery For­mat: Ful­ly Online
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies.

There are many online options, includ­ing sev­er­al dif­fer­ent Bach­e­lor of Applied Sci­ence, Bach­e­lor of Busi­ness Admin­is­tra­tion, many dif­fer­ent Bach­e­lor of Arts and Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence, and they even have a Bach­e­lor of Sci­ence in Den­tal Hygiene.

Stu­dents inter­act with their pro­fes­sors through the Learn­ing Man­age­ment Sys­tem, Bright­Space. The major­i­ty of cours­es take place over a tra­di­tion­al 16-week semes­ter, how­ev­er, some cours­es may fol­low an 8‑week schedule. 

Through­out the pro­gram, there may be sched­uled online meet­ings required. The low cost of atten­dance com­bined with many degree options ensures Clay­ton State Uni­ver­si­ty is at the top of the list.

2. Fort Hays State University

Fort Hays State Uni­ver­si­ty is one of the lead­ing uni­ver­si­ties in the Mid­west. The uni­ver­si­ty offers cer­tifi­cate and degree pro­grams at the asso­ciate, bach­e­lor’s, and mas­ter’s lev­els through 31 aca­d­e­m­ic departments.

• Loca­tion: Hays, KS
• Cost Per Cred­it Hour: $242.76
• Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dent Pop­u­la­tion: 10,427
• Degrees Offered: Asso­ciate degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Deliv­ery For­mat: Ful­ly Online
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Known as the “Vir­tu­al Col­lege,” the online pro­grams at Fort Hays are top-notch. Designed specif­i­cal­ly for adult learn­ers, there are over 50 online degrees to choose from. With the low cost of only $242.76 per cred­it hour for a bach­e­lor’s degree, Fort Hays is one of the best in the nation. 

All of the online degrees are accred­it­ed by the High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion ensur­ing stu­dents that they are receiv­ing a qual­i­ty edu­ca­tion. Stu­dents can choose from 34 bach­e­lor’s degrees; addi­tion­al­ly, the Uni­ver­si­ty offers online cer­tifi­cate and mas­ter’s degree programs. 

While the degree options are lined out in their scope and sequence, Fort Hays offers some­thing more flex­i­ble, and inno­v­a­tive for the stu­dent who is look­ing for some­thing a bit broad­er. The Bach­e­lor of Gen­er­al Stud­ies degree allows stu­dents to cus­tomize a pro­gram of study that best meets their needs.

3. Arkansas State University

The sec­ond-largest uni­ver­si­ty in Arkansas, ASU is a doc­tor­al-lev­el nation­al insti­tu­tion with more than 150 areas of study and a diverse stu­dent body from across the nation and the world. The online pro­gram is one of the old­est online degree pro­grams in Arkansas.

• Loca­tion: Jones­boro, AR
• Cost Per Cred­it Hour: $249.78
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 8,201
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ciate degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post­bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree-research/schol­ar­ship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% online
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies.

One of the most afford­able online degree pro­grams on the list, an online bach­e­lor’s degree at Arkansas State Uni­ver­si­ty is a mere $249.78 per cred­it hour. 

There are sev­er­al online bachelor’s degrees offered through Arkansas State. Here is a sampling: 

• B.A. in Criminology
• Com­mu­ni­ca­tion Studies
• Soci­ol­o­gy
• Polit­i­cal Science
• Strate­gic Communication
• Dis­as­ter Preparedness/Emergency Management
• B.G.S. in Gen­er­al Studies
• B.A.S. in Applied Science

Addi­tion­al­ly, the Uni­ver­si­ty offers numer­ous online grad­u­ate pro­grams. There are cur­rent­ly over 5,000 online stu­dents earn­ing their degrees through Arkansas State, mak­ing it one of the largest pro­grams in the state.

4. Ohio University

In line with the mis­sion state­ment “Reli­gion, moral­i­ty, and knowl­edge being nec­es­sary to good gov­ern­ment and the hap­pi­ness of mankind, schools and the means of edu­ca­tion shall for­ev­er be encour­aged,” Ohio Uni­ver­si­ty offers an excel­lent online education. 

• Loca­tion: Athens, OH
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 17,860
• Cost Per Cred­it Hour: $307
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post­bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree-research/schol­ar­ship, Doc­tor’s degree-pro­fes­sion­al practice
• Deliv­ery For­mat: Ful­ly online
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies.

Work­ing in part­ner­ships with local com­mu­ni­ty col­leges, the Uni­ver­si­ty pro­vides stu­dents with the oppor­tu­ni­ty to build on course­work pre­vi­ous­ly com­plet­ed. There are nine online bach­e­lor’s degrees avail­able at Ohio University: 

• Applied Com­mu­ni­ca­tion
• Applied Man­age­ment
• Crim­i­nal Justice
• Cus­tomer Ser­vice Leadership
• Inte­grat­ed Health­care Studies
• Psy­chol­o­gy
• RN to BSN
• Tech­ni­cal and Applied Studies
• Tech­ni­cal Oper­a­tions Management

Whether you are trans­fer­ring in cred­its from an associate’s degree or just begin­ning your edu­ca­tion, Ohio University’s afford­able price and ulti­mate flex­i­bil­i­ty are an excel­lent online option.

5. University of Alaska Fairbanks

The Uni­ver­si­ty of Alas­ka-Fair­banks has nine col­leges and schools that offer 147 degrees and 31 cer­tifi­cates in 114 dis­ci­plines. Many of these degrees are eas­i­ly accessed through the cel­e­brat­ed online pro­gram estab­lished at UAF.

• Loca­tion: Fair­banks, AK
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 5,850
• Cost Per Cred­it Hour: $289
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post­bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree-research/schol­ar­ship
• Deliv­ery Format: 
• Accred­i­ta­tion: North­west Com­mis­sion on Col­leges and Uni­ver­si­ties as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies.

Fre­quent­ly rec­og­nized as one of the best and most afford­able online pro­grams in the nation, the Uni­ver­si­ty of Alas­ka-Fair­banks eCam­pus offers numer­ous online bachelor’s degrees. The Inter­dis­ci­pli­nary Gen­er­al Stud­ies pro­gram is worth mentioning. 

The pro­gram offers a path­way to a degree for stu­dents who have earned 100 col­lege cred­its or more but have not com­plet­ed a par­tic­u­lar major. This pro­gram is a great fit for stu­dents who have: 

• trans­ferred sev­er­al times
• have changed majors
• are return­ing to school after a break
• are just look­ing to fin­ish their bachelor’s degree as effi­cient­ly as possible

Stu­dents can choose class­es that they want to take based on their inter­ests and goals. 

Stu­dents in this pro­gram receive per­son­al atten­tion and com­pre­hen­sive advis­ing to ensure that their cred­its are max­i­mized and that their path to grad­u­a­tion is clear and focused.

6. Central Methodist University

Cen­tral Methodist Uni­ver­si­ty is a pri­vate, lib­er­al arts uni­ver­si­ty that was found­ed in 1854. Although the Uni­ver­si­ty is asso­ci­at­ed with the Unit­ed Methodist Church, it wel­comes stu­dents of all faiths and beliefs. 

• Loca­tion: Fayette, MO
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 1,651
• Cost Per Cred­it Hour: $100
• Degrees Offered: Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Mas­ter’s degree
• Deliv­ery For­mat: Ful­ly online via Zoom
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies.

The main cam­pus is home to 1,100 stu­dents, while the grow­ing online school enrolls over 4,000 stu­dents from across Mis­souri and the nation. One of the val­ues that makes Cen­tral Methodist unique is it “affirms its Wes­leyan her­itage and its unique place as the only Unit­ed Methodist-relat­ed Uni­ver­si­ty in Missouri.”

Online stu­dents expe­ri­ence the same high-qual­i­ty instruc­tion as the on-site CMU cours­es but with the flex­i­bil­i­ty and con­ve­nience of online. 

Under­grad­u­ate pro­grams are avail­able in the fol­low­ing areas of study: 

• Account­ing
• Applied Behav­ior Analysis
• Applied Sci­ence in Management
• Busi­ness
• Child Devel­op­ment
• Com­put­er Science
• Crim­i­nal Justice
• Ear­ly Child­hood Education
• Edu­ca­tion­al Studies
• Ele­men­tary Education
• Health Sci­ences
• Inter­dis­ci­pli­nary Studies
• Nurs­ing — RN to BSN
• Pub­lic Administration
• Psy­chol­o­gy
• Soci­ol­o­gy
• Sports Man­age­ment

There is no doubt that Cen­tral Methodist Uni­ver­si­ty offers a vari­ety of pro­grams at a low cost.

7. Kennesaw State University

One of the 50 largest pub­lic research uni­ver­si­ties in the coun­try, Ken­ne­saw State Uni­ver­si­ty has been ele­vat­ed to an R3 clas­si­fi­ca­tion – a doc­tor­al insti­tu­tion with mod­er­ate research activ­i­ty – by the Carnegie Clas­si­fi­ca­tion of Insti­tu­tions of High­er Learn­ing. The Uni­ver­si­ty offers more than 150 degrees through 13 col­leges. It is the third-largest uni­ver­si­ty in the state.

• Loca­tion: Ken­ne­saw, GA
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents:
• Cost Per Cred­it Hour: $185.40 e‑Tuition per cred­it hour, there are sav­ings depend­ing on the num­ber of cred­it hours taken
• Degrees Offered: Less than one year cer­tifi­cate, One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post­bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s cer­tifi­cate, Doc­tor’s degree-research/schol­ar­ship
• Deliv­ery For­mat: 100% online
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Col­leges as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies

Ken­ne­saw State Uni­ver­si­ty is home to a vir­tu­al cam­pus that offers over 70 online degree, cer­ti­fi­ca­tion, and endorse­ment pro­grams and over 500 online cours­es. Grad­u­ates receive the same degree and are taught by the same fac­ul­ty as on-cam­pus stu­dents. KSU offers 15 online bachelor’s degree majors, 17 online minors, and eight online under­grad­u­ate cer­tifi­cate options. 

Addi­tion­al­ly, there are online grad­u­ate pro­grams as well as con­tin­u­ing edu­ca­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties. Online cours­es fol­low the same semes­ter sched­ul­ing as the on-cam­pus programs.

Fall and Spring semes­ters are approx­i­mate­ly 16 weeks long, and Sum­mer is approx­i­mate­ly eight weeks long.

8. Western Governors University

West­ern Gov­er­nors Uni­ver­si­ty began as an idea in 1995 by 19 Unit­ed States gov­er­nors who want­ed to change the way that mod­ern edu­ca­tion oper­ates. They desired to “rein­vent high­er edu­ca­tion with the pow­er­house com­bo of inter­net tech­nol­o­gy and com­pe­ten­cy-based education.” 

• Loca­tion: Salt Lake City, UT
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 112,807
• Cost Per Cred­it Hour: $51
• Degrees Offered: Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post­bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree
• Deliv­ery For­mat: Ful­ly Online
• Accred­i­ta­tion: Dis­tance Edu­ca­tion Accred­it­ing Com­mis­sion, North­west Com­mis­sion on Col­leges and Uni­ver­si­ties as well as sev­er­al oth­er accred­it­ing bodies.

Com­posed of four col­leges West­ern Gov­er­nors Uni­ver­si­ty offers 55 bach­e­lor’s, mas­ter’s, and post-bac­calau­re­ate degree pro­grams, as well as teacher endorse­ment prepa­ra­tion pro­grams. Stu­dents at WGU are assigned a Pro­gram Men­tor who works with the stu­dent to devel­op a per­son­al­ized degree plan. 

Each student’s plan is tai­lored to their indi­vid­ual needs tak­ing into account goals, aca­d­e­m­ic back­ground, career expe­ri­ence, com­fort with inde­pen­dent learn­ing, and the amount of time allot­ted to study. This unique rela­tion­ship is cru­cial for every stu­dent as the Pro­gram Men­tor serves as an aca­d­e­m­ic advi­sor, coach, and support. 

Eas­i­ly one of the top 10 uni­ver­si­ties on the list, WGU pro­vides a large vari­ety and num­ber of degree options, low cost, and one-on-one attention.

9. Southeast Missouri State University

The uni­ver­si­ty offers more than 145 under­grad­u­ate majors, 100 minors, and more than 75 grad­u­ate pro­grams to near­ly 12,000 stu­dents. SMSU takes pride in per­son­al­ized edu­ca­tion and rel­e­vant train­ing for our cur­rent marketplace.

• Loca­tion: Cape Girardeau, MO
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 4,992
• Cost Per Cred­it Hour: Per the web­site: “Assessed per cred­it hour for all cours­es to off­set instruc­tion­al costs of the course.”
• Degrees Offered: One but less than two years cer­tifi­cate, Asso­ci­ate’s degree, Two but less than 4 years cer­tifi­cate, Bach­e­lor’s degree, Post­bac­calau­re­ate cer­tifi­cate, Mas­ter’s degree, Post-mas­ter’s certificate
• Deliv­ery For­mat: Online via Can­vas learn­ing platform
• Accred­i­ta­tion: High­er Learn­ing Com­mis­sion as well as numer­ous oth­er accred­it­ing bodies.

South­east Mis­souri State offers 12 bachelor’s degrees online. With choic­es such as: 

• Busi­ness Administration
• Infor­ma­tion Technology
• Gen­er­al Studies
• Crim­i­nal Justice
• Health­care Management
• Nurs­ing

SMSU online pro­vides an effec­tive way to jump-start your career. 

Nota­bles of online edu­ca­tion at South­east include instruc­tion from the same uni­ver­si­ty fac­ul­ty as tra­di­tion­al brick-and-mor­tar learn­ing, 100 per­cent online learn­ing, and their sim­ple tuition rate that makes it one of the most afford­able options in the country. 

Not only is the price right, but SMSU’s online rep­u­ta­tion is also gold­en. U.S. News ranked it as #1 for Best Online Bachelor’s.

10. Athens State University

Athens State Uni­ver­si­ty offers sev­er­al online bachelor’s degree pro­grams as well as numer­ous minors and cer­tifi­cates. There are also two online grad­u­ate pro­grams offered. Most of the online bachelor’s degrees are offered through either the Col­lege of Edu­ca­tion or the Col­lege of Busi­ness, but they also offer a B.A. in Religion. 

• Loca­tion: Athens, AL
• Total Under­grad­u­ate Stu­dents: 2,520
• Cost Per Cred­it Hour: $226
• Degrees Offered: Bach­e­lor’s degree, Mas­ter’s degree
• Deliv­ery For­mat: Entire­ly online
• Accred­i­ta­tion: South­ern Asso­ci­a­tion of Col­leges and Schools, Com­mis­sion on Colleges

Inter­est­ing­ly, this is a degree that was cen­tral to the found­ing of the insti­tu­tion, as the study of Reli­gion has been cen­tral for almost a cen­tu­ry. The Reli­gion major was ini­ti­at­ed in 1938 and con­tin­ues the long tra­di­tion of prepar­ing stu­dents for their cho­sen voca­tions into this new century. 

The Reli­gious Stud­ies and Ethics pro­gram of study offers cours­es in: 

• The­ol­o­gy
• World Reli­gions
• Reli­gious Ethics
• Reli­gious History
• Reli­gion and Culture
• Bib­li­cal Stud­ies
• Reli­gious Education

Frequently Asked Questions

Con­clu­sion

Col­lege rank­ings can’t make your deci­sion for you. Before you com­mit, learn about FAFSA fed­er­al finan­cial aid, stu­dent loans, in-per­son vs online learn­ing, in-state tuition costs, part-time vs full-time options, for-prof­it vs pub­lic schools, and ben­e­fits for out-of-state online learn­ers vs in-state students. 

Dis­tance learn­ers can seek out the cheap­est online col­leges, and the most afford­able online col­leges include some of the best col­leges in the nation.