Federal enrolment data · Fall 2023 · Montana
Online colleges in Montana
Across the 22 Montana colleges the federal government holds distance-education figures for, 6,128 students (13%) were enrolled entirely at a distance in Fall 2023, and 36% took at least one distance course. 4 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
22
In Montana
Students studying entirely online
6,128
13% of the 47,065 enrolled at those colleges
Took at least one distance course
36%
Fully online plus part-distance study
Colleges on the list below
4
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 Montana is therefore usually starting from the cheaper and simpler end, which is the only sense in which an online college is “in” a state.
Montana colleges where students actually study online
Every Montana 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.
509 of 1,318 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 374 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $3,904 in-state / $12,229 out-of-state.
321 of 670 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 179 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $5,648 in-state / $10,768 out-of-state.
288 of 534 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 103 more took at least one distance course · public · published tuition $2,250 in-state.
259 of 677 students enrolled entirely at a distance, and 383 more took at least one distance course · private · published tuition $29,018 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 Montana 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 Montana
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 Montana colleges. Retrieved from https://campuspin.com/online-colleges-in/montana
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