Types of Online Schools

The Internet offers an abundance of distance learning institutions, but no two are the same. Here we'll make a few important distinctions among the major types of online schools.

Two-Year vs. Four-Year Schools

Any guide for online colleges should distinguish between two-year and four-year institutions. Though you can pursue post-secondary education from either type of school, the degrees and programs that the two types of institutions offer are very different. Two-year online schools offer technical programs, certification programs, and associate's degrees. As of 2004, over half of all online students were enrolled in a two-year college. The advantages of two-year online learning institutions include more affordable tuition, open enrollment policies, and the ability to transfer credit to a four-year school.

You also have the option of enrolling in a four-year online school. Four-year distance learning institutions offer bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, doctoral degrees, and professional degrees. About 40% of all post-secondary institutions in the United States are four-year colleges. The benefits of a four-year school include a wider selection of courses, more prestige, and access to highly qualified faculty members.

Private vs. Public Online Schools

Private universities make up about 70% of all post-secondary institutions in the U.S. Unlike public schools, private online colleges are not sponsored by or affiliated with the government. On average, a student at a private college takes 5.3 years to complete his/her bachelor's degree. When you search for a guide for online colleges, you will also find that private schools have significantly higher tuition than public learning institutions. Students at public schools also take longer to attain their bachelor's degrees than their private counterparts; the average public school student takes about 6.2 years to complete his/her degree. Because much of their funding comes from local and state governments, public colleges charge students who live in state much lower tuition than out-of-state students.

For-Profit and Non-Profit Distance Learning Schools

Most of the schools to which the guide for online colleges will refer you are for-profit institutions. For-profit schools are the norm rather than the exception in the online learning industry. Examples of for-profit online learning institutions include Capella University, the University of Phoenix, and more. Tuition at for-profit online colleges tends to be more expensive than that of not-for-profit schools. However, most students attending for-profit schools receive state, federal, or institution-sponsored financial aid.

In the U.S. as a whole, the majority of post-secondary institutions tend to be non-profit. In fact, 97.4% of the regionally accredited schools in the United States are non-profit. On the other hand, only 20.9% of nationally accredited learning institutions are non-profit. Non-profit schools usually have more affordable costs of attendance, but private, non-profit schools have the highest tuition of all learning institutions. As with for-profit schools, most students who attend these schools receive some type of financial aid. If you have any questions, please read our Frequently Asked Questions page.