OnlineU Methodologies

Best Online Colleges / Program-Specific Lists

OnlineU creates "Best" lists to help students find the strongest online programs from regionally accredited schools. We use federally-sourced and verified data to rank schools in three main ways: 

1. "Comprehensive" lists: This list ranks schools based on the highest online enrollment, showcasing the most popular choices among online students. All schools feature the desired program.

2. "Best by Salary Score" lists: This list focuses on specific programs with the best salary outcomes for graduates. 

3. "Hybrid" lists: When available data is limited, we combine both approaches by prioritizing the programs that produce high-earning graduates at the top, followed by the most popular online schools.

Please see below for a more detailed breakdown of each list.

Best Online Degrees - "Comprehensive" Lists

Our "Comprehensive" lists include regionally accredited schools offering the featured online degree, typically 100% online with few exceptions. We rank the schools themselves based on the largest number of distance learners at the relevant degree level. For example, bachelor's lists focus on schools with the most online undergraduates, while master's lists highlight schools with the most online graduate students.

Why? This approach ensures you see programs backed by schools with significant experience and a strong digital infrastructure for online learning, giving you confidence in their ability to deliver quality education in a fully online format.

Eligibility:

• Schools are all institutionally accredited across our site. 

• For any rankings published in 2024 or later, we use the 6-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) collected by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for each school to determine which schools have eligible online programs. IPEDS is the core postsecondary education data collection program for National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). We also manually verify each degree by checking school websites to confirm accuracy.

• For previous years, we manually researched and collected all online degrees. So, any school with the targeted program at the specified degree level qualified for inclusion if it met our online eligibility requirements.

• We offer additional data points when available, including our proprietary Salary Score, the median starting salary for program graduates, graduation and retention rates, student recommendation rates collected from our companion site (GradReports), and more.

• All of the degrees on our pages are from colleges/universities with regional accreditation.

Fully Online Status: 

Schools with programs that require some on-campus coursework were still considered for our lists if the amount of in-person work required was limited to two weeks or less per year, allowing students to work around job or other responsibilities. However, some degree programs may require additional in-person fieldwork, internships, clinical hours, or practicums.

About The Data

Online Enrollment

The data point "online enrollment" represents the total number of certificate, undergraduate, or graduate students enrolled exclusively in distance education courses for a specific degree level (certificate level, undergraduate level, or graduate level). This data is pulled directly from the NCES. Importantly, online enrollment represents the school overall but is not specific to a given program.

Manually Collected Degrees

All other information outside of the data collected from the NCES and College Scorecard is manually collected from schools' websites.

Submit Updates or Corrections

If you are a school representative and have corrections or additional data on your school's offerings, please contact us.

Best Online Degrees - "Best by Salary Score" Lists

We evaluate online programs based on alumni salaries to help prospective students determine which online degree programs would be the best long-term financial investment. From this analysis, each program is assigned a Salary Score in the form of a letter grade that represents its position relative to similar programs across the U.S. So, a program with an A+ means alumni have higher alumni salary outcomes compared to similar programs. (Please note that not every school has enough earnings data to calculate a Salary Score, and these are clearly marked when applicable.) 

Why? The method of evaluating online programs based on alumni salaries provides a valuable lens for prospective students to assess the long-term financial value of their education. By assigning a Salary Score as a letter grade, the rankings simplify complex salary data into an accessible format, allowing students to compare programs easily.

Eligibility:

To be considered for OnlineU's rankings list, a school needs to meet the following criteria:

• Schools must be institutionally accredited.

• A school must offer at least one fully online degree in the relevant program area.

• A school must have earnings data from College Scorecard to calculate the Salary Score or meet the threshold for online student representation, according to data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), to determine which schools have eligible online programs. IPEDS is the core postsecondary education data collection program for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

• For rankings published in 2024 or later, we use the 6-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) programs collected by IPEDS to determine if a program is offered online. Additionally, we manually audit each degree to ensure accuracy by finding representative source URLs that confirm degree offerings.

About the Data

Salary Score

Salary Scores represent alumni salaries after graduation within specific programs and their corresponding degree levels. This rankings system — proprietary to Optimal — allows readers to compare real-world salary outcomes for the alumni of their desired majors across universities.

We calculate Salary Scores using data from College Scorecard, a resource provided by the U.S. Department of Education. To calculate a school’s overall Salary Score by level, we compare alumni earnings for each individual program to the same programs at schools across the country. In this way, a degree program at one school is evaluated against the same degree program across all schools.

Online Learning Representation

Programs must be primarily administered online in order to be considered for our rankings. A fully online degree is defined as such when the majority of lectures, discussions, and assignment submissions occur through a remote learning management system (LMS). OnlineU manually collects this information from college websites. Schools with programs that require some on-campus coursework are still considered for our rankings if the amount of required in-person work is limited to two weeks per year. There are some exceptions that require additional in-person fieldwork, internships, clinical hours, or practicums, depending on the degree program.

Data Limitations

Like any data set, the data used for our rankings has some limitations and shortcomings. College Scorecard and IPEDS data are not separated by online versus on-campus students, so schools with records that contain both online and on-campus data may not have data specific to online graduates.

The earnings data used to calculate our Salary Score is based on early career salary four years after completing a degree. This does not take into account alumni's potential for growing their income as their careers develop and only includes the earnings of graduates who received federal financial aid during their schooling.

To protect student privacy, College Scorecard suppresses student count and earnings data that could be personally identifiable. This impacts the data coverage and accuracy for some programs. More information can be found in College Scorecard’s data documentation.

Submit Updates or Corrections

Information provided about online degrees is manually collected from school websites. If you are a school representative and have corrections or additional data on your school's offerings, please contact us.

Best Online Degrees - Hybrid Lists

Hybrid lists are a combination of our "Salary Score" and "Comprehensive" rankings — in that order. Schools with the best Salary Scores are ranked at the top of our lists, followed by schools with the highest online enrollment. Read about those list types above for more detail.

Why? Hybrid lists balance financial outcomes with accessibility, providing a holistic perspective on online degree programs. Prioritizing alumni salary outcomes ensures prospective students see programs with strong earning potential first, helping them identify options with a solid return on investment. Including online enrollment as a secondary factor highlights schools with significant experience in delivering online education, offering students confidence in the institutions' capabilities.  

Eligibility:

To be considered for OnlineU's hybrid list, a school needs to meet the following criteria:

• Schools must be institutionally accredited.

• A school must offer at least one fully online degree in the relevant program area.

• A school must have earnings data from College Scorecard to calculate Salary Score or meet the threshold for online student representation, according to data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), to determine which schools have eligible online programs. IPEDS is the core postsecondary education data collection program for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

• For rankings published in 2024 or later, we use the 6-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) programs collected by IPEDS to determine if a program is offered online. Additionally, we manually audit each degree to ensure accuracy by finding representative source URLs that confirm degree offerings.

Why include schools without a Salary Score™?

We feel that having insufficient data to calculate a Salary Score should not disqualify a school from appearing on our list. As a result, we include schools with high online enrollment as well. Since larger enrollment numbers indicate popularity and student satisfaction, we highlight these programs alongside those with Salary Scores. 

At OnlineU, we encourage students to consider all factors — salary potential, online enrollment, student reviews, course offerings, etc. — when selecting a program.

Best Online Colleges By State

Colleges are ranked first based on the highest available Salary Score™ for the relevant degree levels. After that, colleges are ordered by highest online enrollment (i.e., popularity among online students) at the featured degree level.

Eligibility for Four-Year Colleges/Universities by State:

• Schools are all institutionally accredited.

• A college must have a primary campus location within the state.

• A college must offer five or more fully online bachelor's or master's degrees. 

• For 2024 rankings, we determined degree offerings by using the 6-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) collected by Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). 

• For rankings from the previous years, we manually collected and reviewed degree offerings and did not utilize the CIP requirement.

• A college must meet online eligibility requirements.

• Salary Score™ is calculated based on bachelor's and master's degrees. Earnings data numbers are sourced from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard.

Eligibility for Community Colleges by State:

• Schools are all institutionally accredited.

• A college must have a primary campus location within the state.

• A college must offer primarily associate degrees and certificates based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

• A college must offer at least one fully online associate degree. 

• For 2024 rankings, we determined degree offerings by using the 6-digit CIP collected by IPEDS. 

• For rankings from the previous years, we manually collected and reviewed degree offerings and did not utilize the CIP requirement.

• A college must meet online eligibility requirements.

• Salary Score™ is calculated based on the associate degree level. Earnings data numbers are sourced from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard.

About The Data

Salary Score™

Salary Score™ represents alumni salaries a few years after graduation within specific programs and their corresponding degree levels. This rankings system — proprietary to Optimal — allows prospective students to compare real-world salary outcomes among the alumni of their desired majors across universities.

We calculate Salary Score™ using data from College Scorecard, a resource provided by the U.S. Department of Education. To calculate a school’s overall Salary Score™, we compare alumni earnings for each individual program to the same programs at schools across the country. In this way, a degree program at one school is evaluated against the same degree program across all schools.

Salary Score™ examines alumni earnings data four years after graduation. Each Salary Score™ is represented as a letter grade. Schools with the best Salary Score™ are ranked at the top of our ranking lists, followed by schools with the highest online enrollment. Therefore, a school with an A+ means the alumni tend to have higher salary outcomes compared to the same programs at other schools. Please note that not every school has enough earnings data to calculate a Salary Score™, and these are clearly marked (N/A) when applicable. Data is for the graduates of the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 academic years. Earnings are measured four years after graduation and adjusted for inflation in 2021 dollars.

Why include schools without a Salary Score™?

We believe that insufficient data for a Salary Score™ shouldn't exclude a school from our list. Therefore, we also include schools with high online enrollment, reflecting their popularity and appeal among distance learners. OnlineU encourages students to evaluate multiple factors — salary potential, online enrollment, reviews, and course offerings — when choosing a program. By presenting this data clearly, OnlineU helps students compare programs objectively and make informed decisions tailored to their goals and circumstances.Online Representation

After listing colleges with Salary Score™ data, colleges are presented in order of popularity via online enrollment. This data point represents the total number of undergraduate students enrolled exclusively in distance education courses. This data is directly from the NCES.

To maintain a strong focus on online education, all ranked schools must have a portion of the student population represented as distance learners. OnlineU calculates our chosen threshold by pulling data from the NCES' IPEDS.

A fully online degree is defined as such when the majority of lectures, discussions, and assignment submissions occur through a remote learning management system. OnlineU manually collects this information from college websites. Schools with programs that require some on-campus coursework are still considered for our rankings if the amount of required in-person work is limited to two weeks per year. There are some exceptions that require additional in-person fieldwork, internships, clinical hours, or practicums.

Other Notes

Information about online degrees is manually collected from each school's website. If you are a school representative and have corrections or additional data on your school's offerings, please contact us.

Our ranking lists sometimes include partner schools, but we use the same methodology for all schools (partners and non-partners) when developing these lists. Any advertisements within a ranking list will always be clearly marked with the word "Ad" and are not part of the underlying ranking set.

Overall, OnlineU's goal is to equip prospective students with the tools and information they need to navigate the complex landscape of higher education confidently and make choices based on trustworthy data  that will set them up for success in the future.

Most Affordable Online Degrees

Online degrees are often less expensive than traditional campus programs, so we’ve highlighted accredited schools that offer online degrees that are affordable based on global tuition for undergraduate programs as well as manually collected tuition data for graduate programs.

Eligibility:

• The institution has fully online degrees that meet degree requirements for a given ranking.

• For any rankings for associate or bachelor’s programs published in 2024 or later, the institution provides a “global” tuition — the same rate (cost per credit, cost per semester, etc.) for the vast majority of programs at that degree level. For example, a bachelor’s degree in business will have the same tuition rate as a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity or a bachelor’s in biology, etc. Rankings published before 2024 did not require global tuition for programs at the bachelor’s or associate levels.

• Master’s and doctoral program rankings do not require a “global” tuition, as total credits required and program costs frequently differ. We’ve manually collected and calculated tuition costs for each individual master’s and doctoral program on our lists.

• The school is institutionally accredited.

• The school has online student enrollment data available on the National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) database.

• Annual tuition is below $30,000, excluding course fees. Please note that many programs will have additional fees beyond the posted tuition rate.

Schools are then ranked by manually researched online tuition. Citations for each school’s current tuition rates are provided in the tooltips within the ranking tables and school descriptions. Please note that rates are representative of the majority of programs at that degree level at that specific school.

Online Representation

In order to qualify for OnlineU's rankings, a school must have "online representation." This information is based on enrollment data from the NCES' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Please note that online enrollment data points represent the enrollment at a particular degree level and are not specific to a given program.

In order to qualify for OnlineU's rankings, a school must have fully online programs. This is when the majority of lectures, discussions, and assignment submissions occur through a remote learning management system. OnlineU manually collects this information from college websites. Schools with programs requiring some on-campus coursework are still considered for OnlineU's rankings if the amount of in-person work is limited to two weeks per year. However, some degree programs may require additional in-person fieldwork, internships, clinical hours, or practicums beyond the core courses.

Overall Rankings for Degree Levels: Colleges must offer a minimum of five distinct and fully online degrees at the featured degree level for inclusion on OnlineU lists. In this way, OnlineU prioritizes the colleges with a variety of online degree options for potential students to choose from.

Program Rankings: Schools must offer at least one fully online degree in a given subject for the featured degree level.

Data Sources

Manual Collection

The OnlineU staff manually researches tuition costs and online degrees on official school websites. Out-of-state tuition is represented unless in-state tuition is offered to all online students. Colleges with tuition over $30,000 are excluded from rankings. Figures are accurate at the time of publication; please check with the institution for its current tuition rates.

If you are a school representative and have corrections or additional data on your school's offerings, please contact us.

National Center for Education Statistics

Acceptance rates, programmatic accreditation, and the profit status of schools is based on data from the NCES the primary governmental entity that gathers and presents data related to education. Although the NCES updates its data annually, it does not release data into downloadable formats until it has been approved. Therefore, the most current available data is not based on the most recent academic year. Additionally, OnlineU utilizes data from the NCES to determine a school's eligibility for inclusion on rankings lists.

Our ranking lists sometimes include partner schools, but we use the same methodology for all schools (partner or non-partner) when developing these lists. Any advertisements within a ranking list will always be clearly marked with the word "Ad" and are not part of the underlying ranking set.

Best Online Degrees by State - Program-Specific

Many students are interested in specific online degrees within their state of residence. Therefore, we’ve highlighted several popular programs in each state. Please note that these pages focus on one individual degree and are different from our other state pages that highlight all online degrees at a school within a specific state.

Eligibility:

• Schools are all institutionally accredited.

• The school has a primary campus location in the state featured.

• The school offers a fully online degree in the subject highlighted. These degrees will be at the bachelor’s level unless otherwise specified.

• The school has online enrollment or Salary Score data available from Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). IPEDS is the core postsecondary education data collection program for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

We offer additional data points when available, including median starting salary, information on accreditation, and other relevant statistics.

Fully Online Status: 

Schools with programs that require some on-campus coursework were still considered for our lists if the amount of in-person work required was limited to two weeks or less per year, allowing students to work around job or other responsibilities. However, some degree programs may require additional in-person fieldwork, internships, clinical hours, or practicums.

About The Data

Online Enrollment

This data point represents the total number of certificate, undergraduate, or graduate students enrolled exclusively in distance education courses for a specific degree level. This data is directly sourced from the NCES. Importantly, this data represents the school overall, but it is not specific to a given program.

Salary Score

Salary Scores are letter grades that represent alumni salaries after graduation within specific programs and their corresponding degree levels. This rankings system — proprietary to Optimal — allows readers to compare real-world salary outcomes for the alumni of their desired majors across universities.

We calculate Salary Scores using data from College Scorecard, a resource provided by the U.S. Department of Education. To calculate a school’s overall Salary Score by level, we compare alumni earnings for each individual program to the same programs at schools across the country. In this way, a degree program at one school is evaluated against the same degree program across all schools.

Manual Collection

All other information outside of data from the NCES and College Scorecard is manually collected from schools' websites.

If you are a school representative and have corrections or additional data on your school's offerings, please contact us.

Editorial Selections

While most OnlineU lists use a traditional “ranking” format, we’ve taken a different approach on a selection of pages. Students are often looking for a variety of things when selecting a school or program — tuition, earnings potential, popularity, and much more. Therefore, we’ve created four different categories so you can decide which school is best for your higher education journey based on what matters most to you:

• Best by Salary Score

• Best by Affordability

• Highest Rated by Students

• Honorable Mention

You’ll notice that we don’t include rank numbers on any of these lists. These are not official rankings but rather our choices for colleges that you should consider. Schools could qualify for inclusion within several categories — a school highlighted under our "Highest Rated by Students" category may also offer a very affordable tuition rate, for example — but we’ve limited each school to one list.

Best Online Degrees - Editorial Selections

Eligibility:

• Schools are all institutionally accredited.

• A school must have online student enrollment data available on the National Center for Education Statistics ’ (NCES) database. 

• We determined degree offerings by using the six-digit Classification of Instructional Programs collected by Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

Best Colleges by State - Editorial Selections

Eligibility:

• A college/university must have a primary campus location within the specified state.

• Schools are all institutionally accredited.

• A school must have online student enrollment data available on the National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) database. 

• We determined degree offerings by using the six-digit Classification of Instructional Programs collected by Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

• For four-year college lists, a college must offer five or more fully online bachelor's or master's degrees.

• For community college lists, a college must offer at least one fully online associate degree.

Four Categories

Best by Salary Score

We often evaluate online degrees or overall schools based on alumni salaries to help prospective students determine which offer the best long-term financial investment. From this analysis, each is assigned a Salary Score in the form of a letter grade that compares programs to determine which produce top-earning graduates across majors.

• An institution must have earnings data from College Scorecard to calculate Salary Score or meet the threshold for online student representation, according to IPEDS data, to determine which schools are eligible.

• Salary Scores are represented as letter grades. Therefore, a school or program with an A+ means alumni tend to have higher alumni salary outcomes compared to those at other schools. The earnings data used in our Salary Score is based on early career salaries four years after completing a degree. This does not take into account the potential for alumni to grow their income as their careers develop. Another limitation is that it only includes the earnings of graduates who received federal financial aid during their schooling.

Best by Affordability

These schools show annual tuition for the bachelor’s level by default, unless the page indicates we’ve ranked for a different level. Eligible schools for this list must meet the following requirements:

• The institution provides a “global” tuition — the same rate (cost per credit, cost per semester, etc.) for the vast majority of programs at that degree level. For example, a bachelor’s degree in business will likely have the same tuition rate as a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity or a bachelor’s in biology, etc. The OnlineU staff manually researches tuition costs and online degrees on official school websites. Out-of-state tuition is represented unless in-state tuition is offered to all online students.

• Annual tuition is below $30,000, excluding course fees. Please note that many programs have mandatory fees beyond the posted tuition rate. Always check the college website for additional costs before selecting a school.

Highest Rated by Students

Alumni reviews can be a great way to measure overall student satisfaction. Schools on this list must meet the following requirements:

• A school must have a minimum of 20 student reviews posted on OnlineU or GradReports, our companion site.

• A school must have a minimum review rating of 3.5 out of 5.

Honorable Mention

Many colleges and universities don't fit neatly into a single category, but that doesn't mean they should be overlooked. Our Honorable Mention section highlights degrees that deserve your attention during your college search. We've included specific reasons why we recommend them, ensuring you have a comprehensive understanding of their unique offerings.

About Our Data

Fully Online Degrees

In order to qualify for inclusion on one of OnlineU's lists, a school must have fully online programs available. A fully online degree is defined as such when the majority of lectures, discussions, and assignment submissions occur through a remote learning management system. The team at OnlineU manually collects this information from college websites. Schools with programs requiring some on-campus coursework are still considered for OnlineU's lists if the amount of in-person work is limited to two weeks per year. However, some degree programs may require additional in-person fieldwork, internships, clinical hours, or practicums beyond the core courses.

Data Sources

National Center for Education Statistics

Acceptance rates, programmatic accreditation, and the profit status of schools is based on data from the NCES, the primary governmental entity that gathers and presents data related to education. Although the NCES updates its data annually, it does not release data into downloadable formats until it has been approved. Therefore, the most current available data is not based on the most recent academic year. Additionally, OnlineU utilizes NCES data to determine a school's eligibility for inclusion on lists.

College Scorecard

We calculate Salary Scores using data from College Scorecard, a resource provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Other Notes

Information about online degrees is manually collected from each school's website. If you are a school representative and have corrections or additional data on your school's offerings, please contact us.

Our comprehensive lists sometimes include partner schools, but we use the same methodology for all schools (partners and non-partners) when developing these lists. Any advertisements within a list are always clearly marked with the word "Ad" throughout the page.