2024 Top Online Colleges in Louisiana

Louisiana is making college cheaper for online students! Websites like Louisiana Online and the SREB E-Campus are speeding up the search process. Programs like the Transfer Degree Guarantee (TDG) and UL’s Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership are helping to slash costs. Discounts are available for out-of-state online programs. And a number of schools are now offering accelerated degrees. Learn more about all these developments in our short guide to choosing an online program in Louisiana.

Online Degrees in Louisiana: What to Know

1. How to Find Online Programs in Louisiana Public Universities & Colleges

Sponsored by the Louisiana Board of Regents, Louisiana Online is a database of online & hybrid programs offered by the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, the Louisiana State University System, the University of Louisiana System, and the Southern University System. (Check out the full list of schools.) You can use the Program Search to search by degree level, type, topic, or category.

The website also has advice on Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) options, paying for college, and assessing your distance learning readiness. Financial aid is available for these degrees.

2. Public Universities in Louisiana Have a Transfer Degree Guarantee

The Transfer Degree Guarantee (TDG) makes it easy for students from a two-year community college to transfer to a Louisiana four-year public university. This can save students a considerable amount of money in the first two years of college. A large number of Louisiana schools participate in the program.

• To be eligible for the guarantee, students must earn an Associate of Arts/Louisiana Transfer degree (AALT) or an Associate of Science/Louisiana Transfer degree (ASLT) with a minimum grade of “C” in each course and meet the admission standards for the four-year university.
• If they do so, all 60 hours of their course work will transfer.

Online AALT and ASLT programs are available from certain community colleges and online bachelor’s programs (i.e. degree completion programs) are available at four-year universities. Use the Program Search on Louisiana Online to find them.

3. The UL System Has a Cheap Online Degree for Adult Learners

The University of Louisiana (UL) System has developed a great online degree completion program for adults called the Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership. Prospective students need to have at least 60 hours of college credit and must be 25 years old or older. However, students with less than 60 hours will have opportunities to earn credit online.

• In this interdisciplinary degree, students complete 30 hours of online core courses (offered jointly by faculty at UL’s nine universities) and 30 hours of online concentration and elective courses (offered by the “home” institution).
• Nine different degree concentrations (e.g. foodservice strategies and operations) are available. The core curriculum tends to focus on business-related areas such as organizational behavior, management, ethics, interpersonal skills, communication, and finance.

Classes are offered five times throughout the year in accelerated eight-week terms. There are no program fees and students are charged a flat per credit hour rate. Each UL university has financial aid opportunities for non-traditional students.

4. How to Find Online Degrees & Courses in the SREB E-Campus

Debating between Louisiana schools and out-of-state options? Have a look at the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Electronic Campus. SREB has partnered with a number of schools all over the south to create an online program & course catalog. You can search for any degree program or a specific course. Programs that are marked “E” are offered at the Electronic Rate, which means the in-state and out-of-state tuition rates are the same.

Almost all of the Louisiana schools with programs listed in the SREB catalog are public universities. These schools include Bossier Parish Community College, Louisiana State University and A&M College, Louisiana State University (Alexandria), Louisiana State University (Shreveport), Nicholls State University, Northwestern State University of Louisiana, Nunez Community College, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the University of Louisiana at Mon. However, the private and regionally accredited Our Lady of the Lake College also participates in the catalog.

5. Discount Tuition for Out-of-State Online Programs

The SREB also runs the Academic Common Market-Electronic Campus (ACM-EC), a program that allows students to pay in-state tuition rates for certain out-of-state online degrees.

There are some restrictions, however. Approved ACM-EC programs have to be offered in one of the 15 participating SREB states. Also, you won’t be eligible for discount tuition rates if a public college or university in Louisiana already has a degree program in your chosen field of study.

To apply, you will need to meet the admissions requirements of the college or university that offers the program and be certified as a resident of Louisiana by an ACM coordinator. Visit the ACM-EC website for instructions.

Affordable Online Schools in Louisiana

These Louisiana schools appear on both our “Top Online” and “Most Affordable” lists. That means they were able to meet our rigorous criteria for quality, flexibility, price, and use of financial aid money. (You’ll see a CAG Score next to their profiles in our ranking.) We also recommend a quick look at the financial and student statistics (e.g. average debt load) on College Scorecard.

• Louisiana Tech University

  Louisiana Tech’s Global Campus dubs itself the gateway portal to LTU’s online degrees & courses. However, it’s the Division of Finance and Comptroller that has up-to-date info on tuition & fees, and the Office of Financial Aid that has details on grants & scholarships. Tuition rates are the same for online and on-campus credit hours. Out-of-state students may qualify for the Bulldog Out-of-State Fee Waiver.

• Southeastern Louisiana University

  SELU’s Online Learning section has a full list of its hybrid & 100% online degree programs and courses. Details about each program can be found on the degree’s webpage. Tuition & fee information is available through the Controller’s Office. The Office of Financial Aid is the first stop for grants & scholarships. Military and veteran students are eligible for VA education benefits.

  Need job skills? SELU has partnered with ed2go to offer online career training programs that focus on in-demand occupations (e.g. hospitality, construction, IT, etc.). These open enrollment programs are composed of non-credit, skills-based courses. Since the courses are non-credit, they do not quality for financial aid. However, other forms of financial assistance are available.

Online Schools in Louisiana with Accreditation & Quality Concerns

Whether you’re looking at schools in Louisiana, California, or the great state of Maine, be sure your college or university is fully accredited by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Although national accreditation applies to distance learning institutions, regional accreditation is the gold standard, especially if you’re thinking of transferring credits.

• The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) is in charge of regional accreditation for degree-granting higher education institutions in Louisiana. The homepage allows you to search for accredited institutions by state. The page on Accreditation Actions will also list if a Louisiana school has recently received a Warning or Probation because of quality concerns.
• The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) Database provides a full list of regional & national accreditations for every university in the country.

A number of religious schools in Louisiana (e.g. Cranmer Theological House, Evangel Christian University of America, Louisiana Baptist University, etc.) hold no regional or national accreditations of any kind, so check those accreditation databases before you commit. In addition, here are a few institutions that have experienced quality issues in recent years.

• American Coastline University

  American Coastline University is an unaccredited school that used to operate in Louisiana. It holds no recognized national or regional accreditations and does not appear in the CHEA Database or College Scorecard.

• Ashington University

  Ashington University is an unaccredited school that holds no recognized national or regional accreditations. It does not appear in the CHEA Database or College Scorecard.

• Centenary College of Louisiana

  Centenary College is regionally accredited. However, SACSCOC placed the school on Probation in June 2016 for one year due to concerns with financial stability and short-term finances. On other hand, a 2016 KSLA News article noted that the school had been awarded the only “A” grade in the state of Louisiana for college and university financial health by Forbes Magazine. It also has “one of the largest endowments per student in the country with an investment portfolio of just over $130 million.” What’s more, College Scorecard reports strong student statistics. On June 15, 2017, Centenary College of Louisiana’s Disclosure Statement was deleted from the SACSCOC website.

• Glenford University

  Glenford University is an unaccredited school that holds no recognized national or regional accreditations. It does not appear in the CHEA Database or College Scorecard.

• Kingdom College of Natural Health

  Kingdom College of Natural Health holds no national or regional accreditations recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. It does not appear in the CHEA Database or College Scorecard.

• University of Phoenix (Baton Rouge Campus)

  University of Phoenix is a for-profit institution headquartered in Arizona. The CHEA Database notes that it is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), but it has been subject to a number of lawsuits over the years. College Scorecard reports that the Baton Rouge campus has a low graduation rate and a lower than average number of students paying down their debt within the first three years of leaving college.

Louisiana Online Education Resources

Accreditation

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC): Sometimes referred to as SACS, this is the regional accrediting body for degree-granting higher education institutions in Louisiana. Use the homepage to search for accredited institutions by state.

Distance Learning Resources

• Louisiana Connections Academy (LACA): LACA is a tuition-free, online K-12 public school run by Connections Education LLC. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement (SACS CASI) and authorized by the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
• Louisiana Distance Learning Association (LaDLA): LaDLA is a non-profit association dedicated to helping educators in the field of distance learning. It organizes conferences and professional development opportunities.
• Transfer Degree Guarantee (TDG): TDG is a program that makes it easy for students from a two-year community college to transfer a Louisiana four-year public university. Online TDG degrees are available.

Online Degree & Course Catalogs

• Louisiana Online: Use the Program Search to find online or hybrid programs in the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, the Louisiana State University System, the University of Louisiana System, or the Southern University System.
• Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Electronic Campus: Search for online degree programs or courses being offered by participating Louisiana institutions in the SREB campus.