America's Top Online Colleges and America's Top Online Learning Providers 2023

By Ed Barredo

From full university degree programs to professional development courses to classes for hobbyists or those just wanting to learn something new, the range of education available online is enormous. The choices can be daunting.

For the second year, Newsweek and global data firm Statista have worked together to find "America's Top Online Colleges 2023" and "America's Top Online Learning Providers 2023." Our lists are based on a survey of about 9,000 online learners and our own research about the institutions.

For America's Top Online Colleges we ranked 200 colleges and universities that (also) offer online undergraduate or graduate programs. The awarded institutions received either five stars, if their aggregate score value is above the median score of all awarded institutions, or four stars, if their score is below.

For America's Top Online Learning Providers we selected 50 organizations that offer online certificate and non-certificate courses supporting the professional or personal development of learners in the U.S. We used the same star system as with Top Online Colleges and Universities. While the star rating can be helpful in comparing these institutions, we didn't rank the Top Online Learning Providers. The topic and form of the courses they offer is too varied to make an overall ranking meaningful.

If you are looking for quality online education, we hope you will find our listings helpful.

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America’s Top Online Colleges 2023

Rank

Institution Legal Name

Institution Brand Name

Award

City

State

1University of MarylandUniversity of Maryland★★★★★College ParkMaryland2American College of EducationAmerican College of Education★★★★★IndianapolisIndiana3University of PennsylvaniaPenn’s Online Learning Initiative (OLI)★★★★★PhiladelphiaPennsylvania4Boston UniversityBoston University★★★★★BostonMassachusetts5Stanford UniversityStanford University Online★★★★★StanfordCalifornia6DeVry UniversityDeVry University★★★★★NapervilleIllinois7Michigan State UniversityMSU Online★★★★★East LansingMichigan8Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University★★★★★BaltimoreMaryland9East Carolina UniversityEast Carolina University★★★★★GreenvilleNorth Carolina10Northeastern UniversityNortheastern Online★★★★★BostonMassachusetts11Appalachian State UniversityApp State Online★★★★★BooneNorth Carolina12Indiana Wesleyan UniversityIndiana Wesleyan University★★★★★MarionIndiana13Purdue University-Main CampusPurdue University Online★★★★★West LafayetteIndiana14University of KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky★★★★★LexingtonKentucky15University of Alabama at BirminghamUAB Online★★★★★BirminghamAlabama16University of FloridaUniversity of Florida Online★★★★★GainesvilleFlorida17Old Dominion UniversityODUOnline★★★★★NorfolkVirginia18University of North Carolina at CharlotteUNC Charlotte★★★★★CharlotteNorth Carolina19Saint Leo UniversitySaint Leo University★★★★★Saint LeoFlorida20University of ArkansasUniversity of Arkansas★★★★★FayettevilleArkansas21University of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia Online Learning★★★★★AthensGeorgia22Fashion Institute of TechnologyFashion Institute of Technology★★★★★New YorkNew York23The University of Texas Permian BasinThe University of Texas Permian Basin★★★★★OdessaTexas24Morgan State UniversityMorgan Online★★★★★BaltimoreMaryland25Texas State UniversityTexas State University★★★★★San MarcosTexas26West Virginia UniversityWVU Online★★★★★MorgantownWest Virginia27Troy UniversityTroy University★★★★★TroyAlabama28University of California-RiversideUC Riverside★★★★★RiversideCalifornia29Indiana University and Purdue University (IUPUI)Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis Online (IUPUI)★★★★★BloomingtonIndiana30Columbus State UniversityColumbus State University★★★★★ColumbusGeorgia31Santa Fe CollegeSanta Fe College★★★★★GainesvilleFlorida32University of Wisconsin-MadisonUW–Madison Online★★★★★MadisonWisconsin33Sam Houston State UniversitySHSU Online★★★★★HuntsvilleTexas34University of Southern MississippiOnline at Southern Miss★★★★★HattiesburgMississippi35University of Massachusetts-AmherstUniversity of Massachusetts-Amherst★★★★★AmherstMassachusetts36University of North Carolina at GreensboroUNCG Online★★★★★GreensboroNorth Carolina37Concordia University-WisconsinConcordia University-Wisconsin★★★★★MequonWisconsin38Brigham Young University–IdahoBrigham Young University Idaho (BYUI)★★★★★RexburgIdaho39University of IowaUniversity of Iowa Distance and Online Education★★★★★Iowa CityIowa40Yale UniversityYale Online★★★★★New HavenConnecticut41Central Georgia Technical CollegeCentral Georgia Technical College★★★★★Warner RobinsGeorgia42University of Southern CaliforniaUSC Online★★★★★Los AngelesCalifornia43Mesa Community CollegeMesa Community College★★★★★MesaArizona44Somerset Community CollegeSomerset Community College★★★★★SomersetKentucky45East Tennessee State UniversityEast Tennessee State University★★★★★Johnson CityTennessee46Auburn UniversityAuburn Online★★★★★AuburnAlabama47ASU Online - Arizona State UniversityASU Online★★★★★ScottsdaleArizona48Nova Southeastern UniversityNSU Florida★★★★★Fort LauderdaleFlorida49Virginia Commonwealth UniversityVCU Online★★★★★RichmondVirginia50Clemson UniversityClemson University★★★★★ClemsonSouth Carolina

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Licensing

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METHODOLOGY

The rankings are based on an online survey among U.S. residents who have used online learning services to obtain an academic degree or acquire knowledge and skills for their job (professional development) or hobbies (personal development).

Between June 20 and August 29, 2022, Statista surveyed about 9,000 individuals in the United States. Survey respondents indicated which institutions they used to obtain an online degree or where they attended an online course. In the next step, respondents shared their experiences by rating the institutions regarding several criteria. Finally, respondents could indicate how satisfied they were with the organization and to what extent they would recommend it to others.

User reviews and additional institutional indicators were transformed into score values and aggregated toward a final score. To receive an award, institutions needed an above average total score value. The awarded institutions received either five stars, if their final score value is above the median score of all awarded institutions, or four stars, if their score is below this threshold.

The top lists were created through an elaborate process: Participants' responses as well as the final selection of institutions in each list were carefully reviewed. Statista makes no statement about the quality of education institutions or learning providers that are not included in the list and their reputations are not disputed.

You can download the complete methodology here.