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Top Online College 2017


best online college1/20/17

Minnesota West Community & Technical College has been named a 2017 Best Online College in America by bestcolleges.com for the third year in a row. Minnesota West is ranked third out of twenty-five accredited schools offering online Associate Degrees nationwide.

Bestcolleges.com states that, “online degree programs have outpaced traditional degree programs in terms of growth in the last decade, and, according to Babson, 70% of academic leaders say that online learning is now a fundamental part of their postsecondary institution’s long-term growth strategy.”

Using data collected from the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES) and the institutions themselves, BestColleges.com included admissions, enrollment, retention, graduation rates, and cost of attendance to rank the top schools accordingly. All institutions included in the ranking are not-for-profit and offer at least three accredited, 100% online degree options.

View entire list of ranked institutions.


Top Online Associate Degree Institutions:

  1. Florida Institute of Technology – Online
  2. Southern New Hampshire University
  3. Minnesota West Community & Technical College
  4. Northcentral Technical College
  5. University of Alaska Fairbanks
  6. Thomas Edison State University
  7. Foothill College
  8. Excelsior College
  9. Pennsylvania State University - World Campus
  10. Liberty University
  11. Wake Technical Community College
  12. Northwest Iowa Community College
  13. Bismarck State College
  14. Shoreline Community College
  15. Western Wyoming Community College
  16. Surry Community College
  17. Southwest Virginia Community College
  18. Hodges University
  19. Southwestern Assemblies of God University
  20. Tiffin University
  21. West Kentucky Community and Technical College
  22. Alexandria Technical & Community College
  23. Hutchinson Community College
  24. Gateway Community and Technical College
  25. Allen Community College