Here's a high-level look at online colleges in Vermont:
Vermont offers dual enrollment programs to allow high schoolers to earn community college credit at some of the four-year colleges in the state.
To help you select an online degree program that meets your needs, we've compiled a list of the best online colleges in Vermont as well as the most affordable ones. In addition, you can see information about scholarships specific to the state as well as loan programs available through the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation.
OnlineColleges.com's rankings of the best schools in Vermont can be a useful tool for aspiring students. We gather comprehensive information on each school into one place, so students can assess and compare the factors that matter most to them. All schools in our rankings hold official accreditation that is valid in Vermont. Most of the schools you'll see are accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NEASC), though some might be accredited by other national agencies. To learn why we only review accredited schools, see our "What is College Accreditation?" page. To check which accrediting agencies are valid in the state of Vermont, review the State of Vermont Agency of Education.
When creating our rankings, we looked at a wide variety of factors to find the ones that matter most to online students. Our rankings are built on data points for each school such as the ratio of students participating in distance education, average in-state tuition, and graduation rate, among many others. Students can use the information we analyzed to help them make their decision on which Vermont school to attend. To learn specifics about why we chose these points for our rankings, visit the "What Makes a Good Online College?" section of our "About Us" page.
Choosing the correct college is a tremendously important decision. As a result, we have compiled this ranking of the 10 best online universities in Vermont, using data gathered from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and our own unique methodology.
Set in the scenic residential Hill Section of Burlington, the largest city in Vermont, Champlain College is a small nonprofit institution with an average student-to-faculty ratio of 16 students. While distance learners are probably not going to live in one of the 20 restored Victorian mansions that serve as housing for Champlain first-year students, there are plenty of other benefits for distance learners at this beautiful, bucolic institution.
Champlain College's online programs are designed to be completed quickly with accelerated schedules, and the college offers academic and motivational support to help distance learners stay on track in their academic pursuits. The college is particularly supportive of transfer students — who can transfer in up to 45 approved credits toward an associate degree or up to 90 toward a bachelor's degree — and military students and their families — who can benefit from reduced tuition costs and multiple support services.
Founded in 1819, Norwich University has more than two centuries of military tradition — the university is the birthplace of the Reserve Officer's Training Corps, or ROTC. Tradition has not stopped Norwich University from embracing innovation in distance education, however. In June of 2017, more than 500 students graduated from the university's online master's degree programs.
At first glance, NU's list of available online degree programs appears small. However, the majority of these programs feature various minors or concentrations, giving students many more options than it initially appears. NU's master's of public administration program alone allows students to choose from a whopping eight different concentrations! And the bachelor's of criminal justice program even gives students the ability to create their own minor for the program, giving unparalleled flexibility to the subject.
Nestled on the shores of Lake Champlain between the Green and Adirondack mountain ranges, University of Vermont-Burlington is the fifth-oldest educational institution in New England. The university offers several online options for distance learners, gathered into five different categories:
Of particularly unusual interest is UVM's unique online medical cannabis certificate program, designed for researchers, educators and others interested in the clinical and therapeutic use of marijuana. The program examines medicinal benefits, legal production, plant biology and chemistry, and policy issues surrounding cannabis and its use as medicine.
Vermont Technical College is situated at the heart of Vermont's famed skiing — the main Randolph Center campus has its own ski hill and a press where students can craft their own snowboards. Out-of-state students may never see a Randolph ski hill, but that's all right: there are many other, more compelling reasons to enroll at VTC.
VTC's biggest advantage is the many beneficial partnerships it holds with other schools and organizations. Due to a partnership with Ed2Go, students enrolled at VTC have access to more than 300 online training programs, each lasting between six and 18 months. More online health care trainings developed by practicing medical professionals are offered through VTC's partnership with Health Ed Today.
On top of this, VTC is also a member of the Vermont State College's System. This allows VTC to have partnerships with various schools in the Community College of Vermont system, helping students who start their educational journey at one of these partnered colleges to transition seamlessly to VTC.
What is NVU like?
Established in 2018, Northern Vermont University is a merger of two schools: Johnson State College and Lyndon State College. They now exist as NVU's separate campuses.
The school is a public liberal arts university with a focus on diversity and inclusion, shown through the NVU-Lyndon FAIR initiative and projects like the "I Am Vermont Too" photo-story campaign. NVU also makes available customized career development and workplace diversity support services to veterans, international students, POC and LGBTQ individuals.
What online programs are at VTC?
VTC has a small but strong list of online programs available for distance learners through the Moodle learning platform, with courses that are mostly asynchronous. Of note is the school's online B.S. in interdisciplinary studies program, which allows students to build their own curriculum! Students combine three disciplines with the help of faculty advising and complete a 20-hour minimum Extended Classroom Experience (ECE) through internship, service-learning or other experiences.
Of the distance learning programs available, only one is not fully online. VTC's B.S. in early childhood education program is 10 percent on-campus, with face-to-face classes and program advisor meetings at the start of each semester.
What online resources does NVU offer?
Distance learners have access to a Canvas Student Guide and NVU's on-campus student resources, like tutoring services and financial aid options. Library services available to online students include interlibrary loans and remote borrowing of library books, as well as digital collections accessibility.
A recent change in academic advisement policy ensures that online students can expect to not only have a specifically assigned advisor, but also assistance from another school advisor should theirs be unavailable for any reason. NVU advisors are now available for consultation even during weekends and evenings, be it through email to face-to-face meetings.
The Green Mountain state presents a wide range of online colleges and programs for a broad spectrum of students from all backgrounds. Read the information below to learn more about some of the most affordable online colleges in Vermont.
The state of Vermont provides students with educational loans through the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC). Before you go that route, you should exhaust all of your available options for scholarship and grant awards, since those forms of aid do not have to be repaid. If you find that you are still in need of financial assistance, you may apply for state-based, federal or private loans to assist you in paying for your education. In order to apply for federal aid, you will need to fill out the FAFSA and supply information about your family's financial situation.
Get more insight into how student loans work in the Ultimate Guide to Student Loans.
Vermont's largest school, the University of Vermont (UVM), recently appeared on a list of the most expensive colleges for out-of-state students. You can qualify for resident tuition if you move to the state for a reason other than attending school and live there for at least one year, but there are a few other approaches you can try as well:
Prospective students hoping to study certain specific subjects may have an easier time getting help with out-of-state tuition than others. UVM offers annual $3,000 awards to high-achieving first-year students planning to pursue degrees in business, engineering, mathematics or the liberal arts.
Students enrolling in online colleges in Vermont have hundreds of options for what to study. With so many choices, how do you decide what to major in? Since most students are pursuing their education in order to further their career, it can be helpful to start with a different question: what jobs are in demand in Vermont?
The data in this section details statewide employment, job projections and average salaries for the best jobs in Vermont. Students can use this data to help them make more informed decisions about which major to pursue in college.
| Employment | Employment Growth | Median High School Salary | Median Bachelor's Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 371,410 | 2.8% | $31,860 | $43,250 |
*Industry rankings determined by annual mean wage, employment, projected growth and location quotient. Data is sourced from the BLS, 2019 dataset.
| Top Industries | Employment | Projected Growth | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ambulatory healthcare services | 218,600 | 4% | $60,929 |
| Pipeline transportation | 73,520 | 3% | $69,080 |
| Lessors of nonfinancial intangible assets (except copyrighted works) | 75,400 | 3% | $67,649 |
| Hospitals; state, local, and private | 236,530 | 4% | $59,411 |
| Postal service | 81,690 | 3% | $64,350 |
| Funds, trusts, and other financial vehicles | 51,900 | 2% | $65,423 |
| Data processing, hosting, and related services | 102,040 | 2% | $65,209 |
| Credit intermediation and related activities | 128,650 | 2% | $60,714 |
| Telecommunications | 121,070 | 1% | $63,144 |
| Securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities | 102,370 | 2% | $63,069 |
Vermont's leading industries include emerging sectors such as technology and energy and more traditional industries such as manufacturing and agriculture. Healthcare, however, is at the top of the most needed jobs in Vermont. A report for the State of Vermont Agency of Administration predicts a 13 percent increase in demand for physicians by 2030 as the population grows older and medical professionals continue to retire. Doctors, nurses, surgeons and other healthcare professionals are needed across the state in hospitals, physician's offices, outpatient care centers, medical and diagnostic labs or home health services.
Other Vermont industries, such as the technology sector, are on the rise for more positive reasons as well. Led by industry stalwarts such GlobalFoundries, Dealer.com, MyWebGrocer, Frame Interactive and many others, Vermont's technology sector accounts for roughly 30 percent of statewide employment. This is driving demand for telecommunications, data processing, data hosting and related services.
Finally, Vermont has a notable presence in the captive insurance industry. The state's financial industry spans a wide range, from small regional credit unions to national investment firms such as Morgan Stanley and Edward Jones. Among the many top jobs in Vermont in the financial sector are financial managers, loan interviewers and loan officers, personal financial advisers and commodities brokers. And as Vermont grows its statewide infrastructure, opportunities may continue to rise for related occupations, such as accountants, auditors, management analysts and financial analysts.
In the section below, we'll take a closer look at some of the high demand jobs in Burlington, Vermont's largest city, and its surrounding metro area.
Companies in the Burlington region form the main engine for Vermont's economy. Snow sports manufacturer Burton is headquartered at Burlington, while IBM has operated a semiconductor manufacturing center at nearby Essex Junction since 1957. As such, it's no wonder that some of the high demand jobs in Burlington include systems software developers, compliance officers and industrial engineering technicians.
| Best Careers | Minimum Education | Average Salary | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Developers and Software Quality Assurance Analysts and Testers | Bachelor's degree | $105,300 | 1,050 |
| Marketing Managers | Bachelor's degree | $116,450 | 400 |
| Surgeons, Except Ophthalmologists | Doctoral or professional degree | N/A | 60 |
| Compliance Officers | Bachelor's degree | $72,530 | 1,470 |
*Career rankings determined by annual mean wage, employment, projected growth and location quotient. Data sourced from the BLS, 2019 dataset.