Online Colleges in Alaska

Alaska's academic system has long embraced online learning. The formation of the Alaska Society of Technology in Education (ASTE) in 1981 serves as a testament to decades of tech adoption and academic networks connecting cities, towns, and remote villages. Alaska's Learning Network (AKLN) consists of a 54-district coalition that provides online high school and college-level courses through the Blackboard learning management system. AKLN's first year of online courses kicked off in 2011. Since then, this organization has worked to ensure that all online classes meet International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) standards. With strong distance-learning infrastructure in place at the secondary and postsecondary levels, it's not too surprising that the University of Alaska offerings have grown to encompass 112 online degree programs.

Along with the rest of the country, Alaska has seen rising tuition rates in recent years. According to the Trends in Higher Education Series published by the College Board, tuition at Alaska's four-year public colleges rose 30.1% within a five-year span, while attendance grew by 13.3%. Fortunately, Alaska's total state appropriations for higher education have also risen by 24.2% in the same time period. Alaska was one of just three states in the nation to provide more than 40% of state appropriations to public academic institutions, a promising figure when it comes to the continued improvement of higher education programs.

We've assembled an extensive online college database to help you learn more about online programs available in Alaska. The state facts tab below will give you a better idea of average tuition levels, graduation rates, and test scores in Alaskan schools.