Best Online Colleges in Maine of 2025

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University Headquarters (HQ) is an industry-leading, independent educational organization that provides independent college rankings using a proprietary formula to create first class, unbiased rankings. The team at University HQ strives to provide accurate and trustworthy rankings that highlight the best programs in Maine.

Featured Online Programs

Maine is a state known for hunting, fishing, and lobster, among other things. However, it’s also a vibrant economy that is strong in manufacturing, retail trade, wholesale trade, construction, and more. When it comes to employment, education/health services leads the pack, while trade/transportation/utilities is close behind. While the latter has experienced a slight downturn in employment numbers, the former is growing its payroll. In fact, most industries in Maine are expanding their staff, with some showing double-digit growth, as in the leisure & hospitality industry.

In this positive employment atmosphere, there are lots of opportunities for workers to grow. To help in that growth and development, Maine's colleges and universities have programs that will help every worker achieve their career goals. For those who are busy working, many Maine institutions have online degree options. There are also online certificates available for those who wish to pursue professional, academic credentials while they continue to work.

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Online Higher Education in Maine

The hottest national trend in higher education is online learning, and the state of Maine is no exception. From community colleges clear through graduate degree programs, Maine students can pursue online higher education. Though some degree programs only offer a few online courses, others are online only. Every state is experiencing high rates of online learning, and Maine has nearly 40% of their student population attending college degree programs exclusively via online media. When it comes to graduate studies, over half of Maine's master’s degree students are enrolled in Maine's online only degree programs. In fact, it's increasingly rare to find students who don't take any online classes at all.

When it comes to educational costs, online education can offer some distinct benefits. Some public colleges and universities, for instance, may not charge out-of-state students a premium for tuition, though that is relatively rare. It's also not certain whether online students in Maine pay lower tuition rates or not.

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The real savings may come from living expenses. Since an online student can live anywhere in Maine, they can control their costs. That is, it may cost far more to live in Bangor than in an outlying town near the Canadian border. Online students also find that it's easier to maintain their careers while pursuing a distance learning degree online. This also applies to those who would like to spend more time raising their children. They can study their online courses while the kids are napping, in school, or down for the evening. Given the wide range of degree options available online, taking extra time for school might pay off very well in the long run.

Ultimately, the best value in a Maine education comes from the state's publicly funded colleges and universities, where the average cost for tuition and fees is around $7,000. This figure doubles for out-of-state students. Meanwhile, private colleges charge over $35,000 for tuition regardless of student residency. Note that these figures may reflect gross costs and not the net price after any applicable grants and scholarships are applied.

Our School Rankings Methodology

Educational researchers strive to provide information that all students can use. Thus, our team seeks out the most objective academic and other statistics available. For instance, they first assemble a representative collection of institutions that offer online degrees and have a campus in Maine. They then look at statistics such as the retention rate, graduation rate, salary outcomes, and reputation.

The retention rate is a measure of how many first time, full-time students return for their second year. When a school reports a high retention rate, it can be assumed that the institution offers a high value in terms of curriculum, faculty, and campus resources. For the graduation rate, it's common for schools to report a much smaller percentage. However, this number is often offset by the transfer-out rate. Transfer students are often highly motivated students who are transferring to another Maine college or university that offers the particular program they desire. Thus, their original college likely gave them the preparation they need to graduate from a more competitive institution. That first college thus nurtured a college graduate.