America's Top Online Learning Providers 2024

America's Top Online Colleges and America's Top Online Learning Providers 2024

From comprehensive university degree programs to specialized professional development courses to classes for hobbyists or lifelong learners, the vast expanse of online learning opportunities can be overwhelming.

For the third consecutive year, Newsweek has collaborated with the respected global data firm Statista to unveil America's Top Online Colleges and America's Top Online Learning Providers 2024. These rankings are based on a survey of over 9,000 online learners, as well as our research about the institutions.

In our effort to find America's Top Online Colleges, we evaluated and ranked 200 colleges and universities that offer online undergraduate and graduate programs. The awarded institutions have been given either five stars, denoting an aggregate score surpassing the median of all recognized institutions, or four stars, signifying a score just below that threshold.

Evaluating America's Top Online Learning Providers led us to select 50 esteemed organizations that offer online courses, both certificate and non-certificate, catering to the personal and professional development needs of learners across the United States. While the star rating can help compare these institutions, we didn't rank the Top Online Learning Providers: the topic and form of their courses are too varied to make an overall ranking meaningful.

For those embarking on a search for high-quality online education, we hope that our ranking is helpful in your quest.

Licensing:

If your facility is listed in the ranking, learn more about the licensing options for Top Online Colleges or Top Online Learning Providers.

Methodology:

For the third time, Newsweek and Statista are awarding institutions that offer online learning courses or online college/university degrees to adult learners in two top lists:

• America's Top Online Colleges (colleges and universities that offer online degree programs to learners who want to obtain an academic degree, including hybrid programs with online and offline courses or exams)

• America's Top Online Learning Providers (institutions other than a university or college and platforms that provide access to their own or third-party online courses)

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

Between June 5, 2023 and July 17, 2023, Statista surveyed more than 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 towards 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 lists, and their reputation is not disputed.

For the full methodology, download this file.