Federal enrolment data · Fall 2023 · Massachusetts
Online colleges in Massachusetts
Across the 94 Massachusetts colleges the federal government holds distance-education figures for, 77,915 students (17%) were enrolled entirely at a distance in Fall 2023, and 35% took at least one distance course. 25 of those colleges enrol at least a quarter of their students that way; they are listed below, largest online intake first.
Colleges with federal figures
94
In Massachusetts
Students studying entirely online
77,915
17% of the 462,697 enrolled at those colleges
Took at least one distance course
35%
Fully online plus part-distance study
Colleges on the list below
25
At least 25% of students studying entirely online AND at least 50 of them. CampusPin thresholds, not federal categories.
Why your state still matters for online study
Distance study has no postcode, but the price and the paperwork do. Most public institutions charge residents less than non-residents, including for online courses at many of them, and states authorise which out-of-state institutions may enrol their residents at all. Starting from the colleges in Massachusetts is therefore usually starting from the cheaper and simpler end, which is the only sense in which an online college is “in” a state.
Massachusetts colleges where students actually study online
Every Massachusetts college where at least 25% of students were enrolled entirely at a distance and at least 50students did so, ordered by how many. Share alone would let a twenty-student campus open the list ahead of a community college teaching thousands at a distance. It is a measurement of enrolment, not a ranking, and nobody paid to be on it.
7,750 of 30,386 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 1,404 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $59,076 in-state.
5,028 of 16,770 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 1,850 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $15,850 in-state / $35,000 out-of-state.
3,016 of 6,096 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 1,772 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $5,412 in-state / $10,356 out-of-state.
2,803 of 6,296 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 1,254 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $11,046 in-state / $17,126 out-of-state.
2,745 of 8,545 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 3,033 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $5,520 in-state / $10,464 out-of-state.
2,570 of 7,471 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 1,681 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $34,009 in-state.
2,308 of 5,053 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 907 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $45,538 in-state.
1,981 of 2,643 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 466 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $37,227 in-state.
1,880 of 5,029 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 1,492 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $5,376 in-state / $10,320 out-of-state.
1,716 of 4,561 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 1,883 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $5,520 in-state / $10,728 out-of-state.
1,676 of 2,842 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 640 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $47,770 in-state.
1,353 of 3,973 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 1,069 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $5,616 in-state / $10,560 out-of-state.
1,282 of 3,706 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 1,156 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $5,810 in-state / $10,754 out-of-state.
1,194 of 1,952 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 297 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $18,072 in-state.
1,180 of 4,028 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 1,078 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $11,630 in-state / $17,710 out-of-state.
933 of 2,603 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 779 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $7,536 in-state.
826 of 3,204 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 872 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $6,000 in-state / $10,920 out-of-state.
764 of 1,501 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 159 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $35,013 in-state.
728 of 728 students enrolled entirely at a distance · private · published tuition $7,608 in-state.
444 of 1,544 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 495 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $5,810 in-state / $11,930 out-of-state.
377 of 787 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 263 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $26,800 in-state.
341 of 1,332 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 227 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $43,064 in-state.
304 of 421 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 96 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $34,009 in-state.
197 of 717 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 15 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $33,663 in-state.
74 of 199 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 29 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $22,490 in-state.
Tuition shown is the published institution-wide rate, not the price of an online programme. Many colleges price online study on a separate schedule, and some charge a single rate regardless of where the student lives, so treat them as headline figures for the institution and confirm the online rate with the institution.
What this list is not
- It is not the complete set of your options. It counts students, not programmes. A college below the threshold may run an excellent online degree that few students happened to take exclusively that term, and residents of Massachusetts can enrol with institutions anywhere.
- It is not a ranking. A high share describes how an institution enrols, not how good it is. Some of the largest shares belong to institutions worth reading carefully before applying, which is why every row links to the full profile with cost, debt and graduation figures.
- It is one term. These are Fall 2023 enrolments, on the federal reporting cycle.
Next steps in Massachusetts
Other states
Source & methodology
Enrolment figures are from the U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Fall Enrollment (distance education status), Fall 2023. Published tuition and control are from CampusPin's committed institution snapshot. Federal data is public domain; credit the U.S. Department of Education.
Distance-education figures count STUDENTS enrolled in Fall 2023, not programs on offer. "Exclusively at a distance" means a student took only distance courses that term. A college with few or no such students may still run online courses or an online degree, so a low figure is not evidence that online study is unavailable, and a high one is not a judgement of quality either way.
Suggested citation
CampusPin. (2026). Online study at Massachusetts colleges. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/online-colleges-in/massachusetts
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