An online degree can cost as little as $3,000 – or over $100,000. More than 12,000 online degrees and certificates – and no two charge the same tuition. Our affordability rankings reveal who offers the best – and worst – buys in online degrees.
Enrolled in an online degree program? Alumni of an online college? Visit your college or degree program in our directory and "grade" – rate and rank – its performance. Your opinion will help others "get educated" about the real-life ratings of thousands of online college programs.
Not all online colleges rate the same in the eyes of the public or potential employers. How does the public rate your online degree? Do they rank it high – or rate it low? Help rate and rank all the choices. Your opinion will help others "get educated" about the real-life reputation of thousands of online colleges.
"Anybody who's thinking of enrolling in an online degree ... take a good look at GetEducated.com . Go ... get a free download of a detailed guide ."
Searching for an Online MBA?: "Several websites can help .. first, GetEducated.com offers free rankings of distance-learning MBA programs."
"Beware diploma mills... Go to GetEducated.com and ask the Diploma Mill Police."
"For a distance MBA you can pay from $6,000 to $120,000. To get the most bang for your buck ... check out GetEducated.com"
GetEducated.com – "a great source for weeding out phonies" (among online colleges).
"Thanks much for your wonderful site! I've recommended it to my students and entered a program I found at GetEducated.com." --Charles Balch, MBA, Ph.D. --Professor, Arizona Western College
February 27, 2008, GetEducated.com, Essex Junction, VT (PR Web)
GetEducated.com, LLC, America’s consumer-oriented, online degree clearinghouse, has released the results of its biennial nationwide survey of tuition costs at accredited, distance-learning and online MBA degree programs.
The survey included 168 distance MBA options. Of these, 62 are offered by graduate business schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
GetEducated’s survey of these 62 AACSB options revealed online learners in the United States should be prepared to pay as little as $7,848 or as much as $106,400 for an AACSB-accredited distance graduate degree in business administration (MBA).
Premiering at the number one ranked “most affordable” spot this year is East Carolina University (North Carolina), a public institution with a modest cost of $7,848 for an online MBA degree for state residents. Out-of-staters will pay significantly more— $26,064—for the same degree.
Duke University, a private institution also located in North Carolina, topped the price chart at an estimated price of $106,400 nationwide for tuition and fees for its Global MBA option.
The average cost for an AACSB-accredited distance MBA: $32,200.
Trends in Online MBAs: Quality of Online Degrees Escalates
The number of AACSB-accredited B-schools offering online graduate degrees continues to escalate. GetEducated’s 2006 survey profiled 46 AACSB options. The 2008 survey features 62 programs; 31 percent of the online graduate business school programs surveyed by GetEducated claimed coveted AACSB accreditation. This ratio mirrors the national average for brick-and-mortar B-schools: about 30 percent of traditional B-schools are AACSB-accredited.
“In 1989 when we began our distance learning surveys, no AACSB-accredited B-school offered a distance MBA," says Vicky Phillips, Chief Education Analyst at GetEducated. "If you’d have asked them if they intended to offer such a distance degree to the public in the near future the answer would have been a resounding, 'No.'
"Today, consumers are being offered unparalleled access to degrees from what most consider the elite of the business school world.”
AACSB accreditation is widely considered the gold standard of business school accreditation. The fact that escalating numbers of these schools are delivering through distance learning helps confirm e-learning as a respectable choice for learners across America.
Trends in Online MBAs: Public Universities Provide Exceptional Buys
Brand-name, brick-and-mortar public universities dominate GetEducated.com’s list of highly ranked values in online learning.
“Ten years ago, most distance degrees came from universities few people had heard of. Today, the best online degrees are being granted by universities that have been helping people get educated for a hundred years or more,” comments Phillips.
GetEducated’s list of top-ranked values in distance MBAs includes names that have earned the trust of consumers and employers alike. Most are publicly supported universities that port their degrees nationwide using online delivery.
Many publicly supported institutions offer the same low tuition they offer state residents to learners everywhere. A distance MBA from the University of Wisconsin, for example, costs between $18,000 to $19,800 for all learners—regardless of their state of residency.
“Tuitions of $18,000 to $19,000 may sound like a lot of money,” says Phillips, “but in truth, an AACSB-accredited MBA for $18,000 costs $14,000 less than the national average. Consumers need to know that a quality MBA need not cost an arm and a leg.”
Phillips recommends consumers shop around for an MBA, which “can result in tens of thousands of dollars of savings. GetEducated publishes Best Buy rankings in an effort to help consumers get educated about some of the great deals available to them if they choose the distance learning route.”
ABOUT: Founded in 1989, GetEducated.com, LLC, is the safest place in cyberspace to shop for an online degree ™. In a nationwide effort to help consumers get educated about quality online learning, the clearinghouse publishes FREE independent ratings and rankings of online universities. The clearinghouse also operates the Diploma Mill Police, (SM), a FREE online degree accreditation verification service designed to help protect online learners from educational fraud.
I’m looking for an online MBA. I’ve found several that fit my budget but none are accredited by the AACSB. What is the AACSB? Do I really need a distance MBA degree that is accredited by them?
—Roberta, Gary, IN
The AACSB is the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. It is considered the gold standard of business school accreditation. But not every student needs an AACSB-accredited MBA...
I was laid off from my job as a real estate agent and want to be a high school math teacher, but my bachelor’s degree is in psychology. Do I need a new degree in education? Will an online bachelor’s in education qualify me to become a licensed teacher?
—Willis, Houston, Texas
If you didn’t earn a bachelor’s degree in education years ago and you now want to teach in the public schools, don’t fret. Every state maintains what are termed “alternative teacher certification” programs...
Western Governors University -- Online, Competency-Based MBA -- A private, non-profit university, WGU offers three flexible, online master’s degrees in Business: the Master of Business Administration, MBA—Information Technology Management, and the MBA-Healthcare Management. You set the pace—the more time and energy you can commit to our fully accredited degree program, the faster you’ll graduate. Plus, the knowledge you've accumulated from prior academic or work experience may help you move through the assessments even more quickly.
Boston University, one of the most respected schools in the US, has developed a Master of Criminal Justice (MCJ) program, delivered fully online. This program has established itself as the largest course of its kind in North America. By completing this program you will earn a highly respected master’s degree from one of the most prestigious universities in the US. Having this MCJ degree can lead to many career opportunities within the criminal justice field.
For active-duty military, reservists, veterans, and military families.
More than half of military students use online education. What do you need to know to find schools that best fit your needs? How can you find the best financial aid and scholarship package at your online school? Answers are here.
The field of online education is growing and so is the need for teachers who can teach online. Check out our regularly updated list of online job opportunities, post your job availability, and visit our Online Resource Center, with tips, advice and free downloads for online educators.
Facts from GetEducated's National Survey of Online MBAs. Who offers the cheapest online MBA? Do you need an AACSB-accredited distance MBA? Online MBA rankings and ratings. Everything you need to know to compare 390 accredited online MBAs from 168 online business schools.
I’m looking for an online MBA. I’ve found several that fit my budget but none are accredited by the AACSB. What is the AACSB? Do I really need a distance MBA degree that is accredited by them?
—Roberta, Gary, IN 
The AACSB is the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International. It is considered the gold standard of business school accreditation. But not every student needs an AACSB-accredited MBA... 
