Best Online Colleges in Georgia 2024

Badge for BEST ONLINE COLLEGES IN GEORGIA

Published: Dec 21, 2021
Updated: Nov 22, 2023

Find the best online colleges in Georgia ranked by the academic success of faculty and alumni associated with the colleges and universities and their online degree programs.

Best Online Colleges in Georgia

Mercer University
University of Georgia
Georgia Southwestern State University
University of West Georgia
Georgia Southern University
Savannah College of Art and Design
Valdosta State University
Columbus State University
Fort Valley State University
Shorter University

University of Georgia
Mercer University
Georgia Southern University
Kennesaw State University
Wesleyan College
Savannah State University
University of West Georgia
Valdosta State University
Georgia Military College
Savannah College of Art and Design

Middle Georgia State University 100%
College of Coastal Georgia 98%
Shorter University 97%
Brewton–Parker College 95%
Gordon State College 93%
Georgia Southern University 89%
Valdosta State University 89%
Columbus State University 88%
Brenau University 87%
Savannah College of Art and Design 82%

College of Coastal Georgia 23 to 1
East Georgia State College 23 to 1
Atlanta Metropolitan State College 22 to 1
Kennesaw State University 22 to 1
Georgia Southern University 22 to 1
Gordon State College 21 to 1
Savannah State University 21 to 1
Albany State University 20 to 1
Fort Valley State University 20 to 1
Georgia Highlands College 20 to 1

Mercer University $39,708
Savannah College of Art and Design $39,605
LaGrange College $33,700
Brenau University $32,685
Wesleyan College $27,650
Reinhardt University $27,300
Truett McConnell University $24,440
Shorter University $22,810
Toccoa Falls College $22,350
Point University $22,300

Savannah College of Art and Design $40,050
LaGrange College $21,965
Shorter University $16,800
South University $15,600
Mercer University $15,531
Brenau University $14,130
Thomas University $13,050
Point University $13,014
Toccoa Falls College $12,240
Wesleyan College $11,573

Andrew College
Toccoa Falls College
Atlanta Metropolitan State College
Point University
East Georgia State College
Truett McConnell University
Gordon State College
College of Coastal Georgia
Dalton State College
Georgia Highlands College

Luther Rice College & Seminary
Thomas University
Brewton–Parker College
Gordon State College
Atlanta Metropolitan State College
Truett McConnell University
East Georgia State College
Point University
College of Coastal Georgia
Georgia Highlands College

Point University 24%
Fort Valley State University 43%
University of Georgia 43%
Thomas University 46%
Andrew College 50%
Paine College 52%
Clayton State University 56%
LaGrange College 59%
Reinhardt University 62%
Wesleyan College 67%

Andrew College 7 to 1
Wesleyan College 7 to 1
Paine College 10 to 1
Luther Rice College & Seminary 10 to 1
Brenau University 11 to 1
LaGrange College 11 to 1
Thomas University 12 to 1
Reinhardt University 12 to 1
South University 12 to 1
Mercer University 13 to 1

Georgia Highlands College $2,280
East Georgia State College $2,280
Atlanta Metropolitan State College $2,426
College of Coastal Georgia $2,563
Gordon State College $2,563
Dalton State College $2,563
Middle Georgia State University $3,144
Albany State University $4,064
Fort Valley State University $4,064
Georgia Southwestern State University $4,064

Albany State University $3,438
Georgia Southwestern State University $3,483
Middle Georgia State University $3,582
University of North Georgia $4,140
University of West Georgia $4,338
Fort Valley State University $4,344
Valdosta State University $4,572
Savannah State University $4,686
Georgia Southern University $4,986
Kennesaw State University $5,328

Key Takeaways

Georgia offers one of the most reputable university systems in the country and is home to Georgia Southern University, Savannah College, Kennesaw State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Valdosta State University.
The state is a Southern Regional Education Board member, providing numerous opportunities for distance learners to save on tuition expenses.
Online colleges in Georgia have cheaper tuition rates than the rest of the country, with $18,000+ on average for the total cost of attendance.

Table of Contents

Featured Programs

Costs of Attending Online Programs in Georgia

According to Education Data Initiative, online colleges in Georgia costs 11.80% less than the U.S. average cost of attendance at any public institution. Georgia residents spend $7,457 or 40.19% annually on average of the total cost of attendance.

Private Universities Tuition

Private higher institutions have more expensive tuition rates than public colleges and universities in Georgia. Online degree seekers pay $27,381 on average if they complete their online programs at a private 4-year institution.

Public/State Colleges Tuition

In-state students pursuing their academic degrees at a public 2-year college pay an average of $2,506 per year on tuition fees. Out-of-state distance learners spend $9,111 in tuition and fees.

In-State Tuition

Aspiring students may become eligible to enjoy in-tuition rates at colleges and universities after residing in Georgia for at least one year. In-state distance learners pay an average of $3,156 for public 2-year institutions, $18,554 for public 4-year institutions, and $42,802 for private 4-year colleges and universities.

Out-of-State Tuition

Unlike in-state students, out-of-state online learners pay higher tuition fees. They pay 210.66% more on average for the cost of attendance, totaling $23,167 for tuition and fees.

Higher Education in Georgia Online Colleges

Georgia has more than 100 degree-granting post-secondary institutions, with 50 public 4-year institutions, 23 public 2-year institutions, and 32 non-profit 4-year institutions.

In 2020, Georgia had 547,389 students enrolled during the fall semester alone. This is one of the highest enrollment statistics in the nation.

Georgia ONmyLINE has a comprehensive list of online programs and courses offered through more than 20 higher learning institutions in the university system of Georgia.

Aspiring students who are prepared to start their online academic programs and courses can visit the website to have an overview of technical requirements, tuition fees, credit hours, academic advising programs, and other essential details. The website allows distance learners to browse online courses and programs based on enrollment status, degree level, subject area, and term.

Several unique online programs are offered in the state, including WebMBA, which is offered by seven schools that are part of Georgia’s University System. The 100% online program is accredited through The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

Attending Online Programs in Georgia as Out-of-State Students

Non-residents of Georgia often pay higher tuition rates when pursuing an academic program at accredited online schools. Many out-of-state distance learners seek affordable online studies when pursuing an educational program.

Thanks to Georgia’s membership to the SREB, out-of-state students can enjoy the benefits of paying in-state tuition rates.

The Academic Common Market also makes it possible for online college students in SREB states to pursue academic degrees that aren’t part of the program offerings of their in-state colleges and universities.

Through the ACM program, students can enroll in out-of-state higher institutions offering their program of choice and pay in-state tuition and fees. Many undergraduate and graduate programs are available thru the Academic Common Market.

Colleges and Universities in Georgia

The state of Georgia is home to 70 colleges and universities. 38 of these schools are public institutions, each offering a wide variety of traditional and online courses as well as a full range of graduate programs for both on-campus and online students.

The University of Georgia, located in the city of Athens, is the largest college in Georgia, with over 35,000 students. Those attending Georgia State University and Georgia Southern University will enter into a friendly athletics rivalry. Tuition at Georgia State costs $9,000, and at Georgia Southern, $6,000.

Both the University of Georgia and Georgia State University are among the 36 colleges in Georgia offering online degree programs.

In addition, there are numerous fully online colleges in Georgia with accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Of the 20 religiously affiliated colleges and schools in Georgia, Emory University has both the highest tuition at just over $50,000 per year, and the largest private school student population, with over 13,000 in attendance.

Georgia is also home to the prestigious Savannah College of Art and Design, which offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs in architecture, advertising, art history, and more.

Prospective students looking to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree can choose from an extremely broad range of in-class and online programs.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

Both traditional and online students in Georgia can earn degrees in religious studies, business, social work, law, and computer science. Those looking to attend technical colleges can also choose from a handful of brick-and-mortar and online colleges that offer two-year degrees in medicine, nursing, and education.

Part of the University System of Georgia, Atlanta Metropolitan State college is the state’s most affordable college at $3,000. Students at Atlanta Metropolitan can major in fields like mathematics, criminal justice, and philosophy. Most degree programs are available through in-person or online programs.

Georgia is home to the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and the Okefenokee Swamp, which is the largest such water-mass in North America. This diverse landscape in The Peach State provides Georgia’s college and graduate students with a beautiful backdrop for an education. It’s also worth noting that Georgia residents who enroll in fully online programs at public universities or community colleges in Georgia will still receive in-state tuition discounts.

Georgia also offers a loan repayment-based financial aid program for qualifying graduates in the medical field through the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce. Check out the best traditional and online degree programs and top career paths this southern state has to offer.

What are Georgia’s Colleges & Universities?

Georgia’s Best Overall

Online education has grown dramatically in quality, credibility, and popularity over the last two decades. Today, more than a quarter of all college students are taking at least one online course. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are more than 5 million college students who are pursuing their undergraduate degree fully online. And the number of online college and graduate students continues to grow as online technology and instructional methods improve.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to remote learning has proven an essential part of the educational ecosystem. Schools that offer primarily online degree programs saw an increase of 7% enrollment just between Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. The number of traditional institutions offering online courses and degrees is growing as well. This all paints a promising picture for the future of online education. But it also produces a dizzying array of options.

Frequently Asked Questions About Best Online Colleges 2024

Asynchronous learning means classes don’t meet at set times. This is the most flexible online learning experience, making when you cover your course material up to you. Most asynchronous online courses will still have deadlines throughout the semester for various assignments and tests. Some asynchronous classes may still ask for an occasional meeting, such as initial meet-and-greets, and in some cases there may be scheduled test times. The idea of asynchronous learning is to allow the student to manage their schedules as needed.

Synchronous learning means you will have scheduled meeting times for your online classes. Synchronous learning gives online students the flexibility of location while also giving students a chance to engage with each other and their professors. For many online students, the structured class schedules and ability to see and hear from peers in real-time helps create the learning experience they want.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable institutions and less-than-reputable for-profit schools. Accreditation gives you the power to differentiate between the two. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency which indicates that a college or university is meeting standards of quality, credibility, and currency. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university which is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. When seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that students opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited, you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer. In many cases, you will be required to navigate a bureaucracy in which some of your credits will be transferred and others will be jettisoned. However, provided that you have attended an online school with the proper regional accreditation, you should have plenty of options for transfer.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript or resume differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

While some employers may express concern about making the adjustment from online education to in-person workplace collaboration, many other employers will view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st Century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

The advantages of online classes are many. First and foremost, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities—educational experiences that you can complete on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

How do we determine the best online colleges for undergrads?

Methodology

Pursuing your degree online doesn’t mean you need to settle for an inferior school. Today, most universities and colleges offer online degrees, and many respected schools are seeing significant growth in their numbers of online students.

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why influence — i.e., the academic impact of faculty and alumni associated with a school — gets at the heart of what is truly best in education. The combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers is the best indicator of academic excellence. For our online degree rankings, we focus on the academic influence of faculty and alumni in the specific disciplines we’re ranking.

If you are serious about finding the best online colleges, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching, and whether their graduates themselves are advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence. Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Influence, as measured by our InfluenceRanking engine, provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

Best Online Colleges in Georgia 2023

Online Degree Frequently Asked Questions

If this is your first time taking an online course, the experience may require a time of adjustment. Although you’ll typically learn the same material and take the same exams as your on-campus peers, going online will require greater independence and responsibility than going in person. You’ll be accountable for your own time management, for harnessing the online educational technology that you’ll need to use, and for completing the course requirements, such as listening to lectures, learning lessons, reading texts, and handing in assignments. This means you’ll need to create a suitable workspace for yourself, maintain a realistic schedule, and take the initiative in building relationships with your instructors and classmates. With online college, your goal is to find a balance between independence and engagement.

No. The only part of online education that’s easier than campus-based education is ease of access: all you need is a computer and an internet connection for online education. But even this seeming advantage of online education can be misleading: what’s easier, studying online with your computer and internet connection from your home where you need to cook, clean, pay rent, and maintain a job? Or studying on campus in a dorm where all your living needs are handled by the school, and college staff are there to help you every step of the way?

If you take the commute to campus out of the equation, campus-based education is easier. All the support structures available on campus for students, especially with real people to help you in person, are not there online. The demands on you as an online student will largely be the same as for your campus-based counterpart, but without the same helps.

In general, your online courses will present the same material and test you in the same way as traditional in-person courses. In many cases, you’ll even have the same instructors as your on-campus counterparts. In fact, if you are adjusting to the experience of independent learning with remote educational technology for the first time, online college may be considerably more challenging than campus-based college. For a few insights on how to manage this new online experience, check out our 10 Tips for Adjusting to School Online.

Accreditation is especially important when it comes to online college. This is because the online education landscape is a mix of highly-reputable non-profit institutions on the one end and less-than-reputable for-profit institutions on the other end. Accreditation gives you the power to identify the more reputable actors in online education. Accreditation is a stamp of approval from an independent accrediting agency indicating that a college or university is meeting standards of quality and credibility. School-wide accreditation falls into two major categories: regional and national accreditation. Regional accreditors generally hold jurisdiction only over schools in the states comprising their region, whereas national accreditors hold jurisdiction over schools in all states. Regional accreditation is widely regarded as a more rigorous standard of quality and credibility than national accreditation.

Attending a college or university that is not regionally accredited could limit your opportunities. For students seeking an online education, we strongly recommend that they opt for regionally accredited schools. Regional accreditation ensures eligibility for federal loans and grants, ensures your college credits can be transferred between schools, and ensures that your degree credits can be accepted if you wish to earn an advanced degree. For more on this important topic, check out our What is Accreditation and Why Does It Matter? College & University Accreditation Guide.

As long as your online college degree is regionally accredited (see the previous point), you should have little difficulty transferring most of your credits or credentials to another regionally accredited undergraduate school. Every school carries its own standards and procedures for granting a transfer of credits. In many cases, you will encounter some bureaucratic haggling in which some of your credits will be transferred and others may be refused. However, provided that you have attended an online school with recognized regional accreditation, you should be in good shape in transferring your credits earned online.

In most cases, as long you graduate from a well-regarded, regionally-accredited online college, prospective employers won’t look sideways at your degree. In fact, unless you attend an exclusively online college or university, there will likely be no specific indicator on your degree, transcript, or resumé differentiating your school from its brick-and-mortar counterpart. This means that your employer will likely only differentiate between an online and in-person degree if you mention this distinction.

Some employers may express the concern that because you did your degree online, you may need to transition from an online education experience to in-person workplace experience. But in an age of Covid, that concern seems much diminished. The fact is that much employment these days is remote. And collaboration increasingly happens online over Zoom. Many employers will therefore view your online degree as evidence of valuable 21st century professional skills such as independence, self-motivation, time management, and tech savvy.

If you are a student who thrives on the dynamic energy of in-person discussion, who requires the physical surroundings of a classroom to feel engaged, or who considers the social aspects of education to be of equal importance to the actual content of your courses, online education will be less than ideal for you (though depending on your circumstances, it may also be the only viable option).

While there is much in traditional campus-based education that can be substituted or simulated through the online medium, some students may find that there is nothing that can replace the conversation, collaboration, and motivation that occur in an actual in-person classroom setting. As you transition to online education, one of the biggest challenges you will likely face in getting the most out of your online classes is overcoming this difference between “real reality” and “virtual reality.” Fortunately, we’ve got some great Tips for Online Education Beginners.

The advantages of online classes are many. Above all, online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to attend class from anywhere that works for you, whether you’re at home, in a coffee shop, or in a quiet conference room at work. In many cases, you’ll also enjoy the convenience of asynchronous learning opportunities-educational experiences that you can complete at your own pace and on your own schedule. This may include pre-taped lectures, ongoing chat-board discussions, and 24/7 access to digital materials. And of course, just as there are some learners who prefer the energy of a live classroom, there are those who learn best when working in their own personal space, free from distractions. If this sounds like you, you might find the solitude of online learning to be a major advantage.

Whether you’re just getting started on your college search, you’re looking for survival tips on your way to a bachelor’s degree, or you’re preparing for the transition into grad school, we’ve got guides, how to’s and tons of other valuable resources to keep you moving forward in your educational journey.

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Best Online Colleges in Georgia 2024

Best Online Colleges in Georgia

Key Takeaways

Featured Programs

Costs of Attending Online Programs in Georgia

Private Universities Tuition

Public/State Colleges Tuition

In-State Tuition

Out-of-State Tuition

Higher Education in Georgia Online Colleges

Attending Online Programs in Georgia as Out-of-State Students

Colleges and Universities in Georgia

What are Georgia’s Colleges & Universities?

Best Online Colleges in Georgia 2023

Career Outlook for degree at Mercer University

Online Degrees

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Career Outlook for degree at University of Georgia

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Career Outlook for degree at Georgia Southwestern State University

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Career Outlook for degree at University of West Georgia

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Career Outlook for degree at Georgia Southern University

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Career Outlook for degree at Savannah College of Art and Design

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Career Outlook for degree at Valdosta State University

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Career Outlook for degree at Columbus State University

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Career Outlook for degree at Fort Valley State University

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Career Outlook for degree at Shorter University

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Career Outlook for degree at Reinhardt University

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Career Outlook for degree at Clayton State University

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Career Outlook for degree at Luther Rice College & Seminary

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Career Outlook for degree at Wesleyan College

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Career Outlook for degree at Savannah State University

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Career Outlook for degree at Paine College

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Career Outlook for degree at Albany State University