2024 Top Online Colleges in Vermont

Vermont takes distance education seriously, so even though the Green Mountain State isn’t particularly large, you’ll still need help sorting through the online options. This guide gives you a concise rundown of degree paths, accreditation issues and price tags, with a handy list of links at the end.

Online Degrees in Vermont: What to Know

1. Community College of Vermont Runs a Center for Online Learning

Look at a map of its 12 locations and you’ll see that the Community College of Vermont (CCV) strives to make an associate degree accessible to all Vermonters. Students in the state can take online courses or whole degrees from the Center for Online Learning, then pop into their local academic center for academic support, administrative matters or (if they choose) in-person classes.

2. Earn Online Credits in High School

Thanks to the Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative (VTVLC), high school students don’t have to worry if a course isn’t offered at their school or if they have a scheduling conflict. They can take all sorts of classes, including Advanced Placement courses that chip away at the credits needed for a postsecondary degree. Secondary students from VTVLC partner schools pay nothing. Plus, VTVLC gives Vermont high school upperclassmen two dual enrollment vouchers, redeemable for free courses at CCV.

3. Vermont State Colleges Have Flexible Degree Completion Programs

The state’s five state colleges — Castletown University, CCV, Johnson State College (JSC), Lyndon State College and Vermont Technical College — join forces to provide online and hybrid degree completion programs from the certificate to master’s level. For instance:

• LyndonFLEX encompasses any course offered in a hybrid or online format as well as night and weekend courses.
• The JSC in Your Community program combines online and weekend courses at locations throughout the state, while the JSC Online program runs a handful of bachelor’s programs available to out-of-staters at an in-state rate.

The Vermont State Colleges get extra points for making it straightforward for such students to garner prior learning credits. Get credit by passing a standardized test, independently mastering a course’s objectives, putting together a winning portfolio, or completing an organizational training.

4. The University of Vermont Has Its Own Distance Education Program

UVM is outside the Vermont State College system, so it keeps its own website for continuing and distance education. Nontraditional students and recent high school grads alike can scroll through degree and course offerings. Not everything is for credit, but even non-degree students can get financial aid from UVM’s Continuing and Distance Education office.

5. Receive a Tuition Break Out of State

The New England Board of Higher Education’s (NEBHE) Tuition Break initiative gives Vermonters a sizable discount for going to a participating school in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire or Rhode Island if they enroll in a program (residential or online) that isn’t available at a public institution back home. Students from those states receive the same courtesy when enrolling in a Vermont program.

Online Schools in Vermont with Accreditation & Quality Concerns

Vermont is relatively free of shady schools and diploma mills, but prospective students should always be vigilant against diploma mills, the region’s Better Business Bureau warns. Rule #1: If you want your degree to be worth something, avoid online schools that aren’t accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Still, it’s not unheard of for the state’s 20+ accredited colleges to run into issues. In 2016, for instance, Burlington College lost its accreditation and shuttered its doors due to financial issues.

• The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accredits all of Vermont’s colleges and universities, save a few vocational schools that stop at the certificate level. NEASC maintains an updated list of Vermont members on its website.
• To make sure a school isn’t in danger of going down the same path as Burlington College, browse NEASC’s Recent Commission Actions. Seeing an asterisk next to a school’s name means you should click for more info.

Just to be safe, you can cross-check NEASC’s list with the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) database.

Vermont Online Education Resources

Accreditation

• New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC): NEASC’s Commission on Institutions of Higher Education (CIHE) accredits all public institutions of higher learning in Vermont, as well as most private ones. Check there to see if the Vermont schools you’re eyeballing are regionally accredited.

Distance Learning Resources

• Vermont State Colleges System: Flexible degrees. Five schools. All of which link seamlessly to the Vermont State Colleges website. Use it as a jumping off point for your distance education.
• Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative (VTVLC): Step 1: Take free online AP courses in high school. Step 2: Score well on the AP exams. Step 3: Get dual credit for high school and college, while lowering your tuition costs. Register at VTVLC.

Online Degree & Course Catalogs

• Consortium of Vermont Colleges: The Consortium’s degree search tool doesn’t yet allow you to filter for online degrees, but it can expose you to offerings from Vermont’s public and private schools. Use it to see which institutions have your chosen academic program.
• New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE): NEBHE maintains an online database of out-of-state programs that Vermonters and other New Englanders can enroll in at a lower regional rate.