2025 Best Online Community Colleges in Alabama

Northwest Shoals Community College - Muscle Shoals (NSCCMS) features two fully online associate degrees and one fully online certificate. The first online degree is an online Associate of Science or Associate of Arts. The college designs these degrees to be transfer-ready to a four-year college by covering standard prerequisite courses. The second choice is an Associate in Applied Science in Criminal Justice. Students can also pursue a certificate in Microcomputer applications that serves as preparation to pass a Microsoft Office Specialist certification test.

Why we like them: NSCCMS is committed to improving the number and quality of its online offerings. It makes its long-term Quality Enhancement Plan available for public view. Desired improvements include assessing student readiness for online learning, hiring a distance education success coach, and seeking certification from the nonprofit organization Quality Matters.

Bevill State Community College (BSCC) offers several online associate degrees and a variety of technical education certificates. The associate degrees are all health sciences programs with majors such as nursing, surgical technology, phlebotomy, emergency medical services, and dental assistant studies. The college generally designs these degrees to lead to certification in these respective fields, which means that students will need to complete some amount of in-person clinical work at an approved facility.

Why we like them: Some of BSCC’s online programs allow you to choose between asynchronous, synchronous, and hybrid learning modes. This allows for maximum flexibility because enrollees can decide how they want to absorb information to meet their learning needs and to attend to their responsibilities. In addition, BSCC’s nursing graduates have high pass rates for nursing licensure exams, especially those who want to become licensed practical nurses.

Shelton State Community College (SSCC) makes college accessible and affordable through online undergraduate degrees and certificate programs. The community college primarily offers online associate degrees in business-related majors. Examples of the associate degree programs available at SSCC include an Associate in Arts, an Associate in Applied Science in Business Office Management Technology - Bookkeeping and Accounting, and an Associate in Applied Science in Health Information Technology.

Why we like them: Those interested in direct workforce entry can complete online job-readiness skill-building certificates. These certificates cover occupations like bookkeeping and accounting, information processing, and organizing medical records. Online short-term certificates are also available in fields such as paralegal and health information technology/medical coding, which students may complete in less than a year. We understand that not everyone wants a degree, so we like that you can pursue certifications at SSCC.

Snead State Community College (Snead State) integrates innovative technology with teaching, advising, and mentoring to promote online learning. You can pursue online associate degree programs, including popular majors such as business, elementary education, and pre-nursing. The community college also offers short- and long-term online certifications in child development, medical billing and coding, office administration, and accountancy.

Why we like them: Snead State offers online student resources to assist you as you further your education. Distance learners can access online student resources, such as tutoring, disability services, career services, library services, workshop videos, and library services. The community college also has the Sneads Veterans Association, which aims to provide military members and veterans with a quality educational experience. Distance education can be challenging for many students, so we appreciate that Snead State offers many online student support services.