Online Colleges in Nevada

Nevada students of all grade levels are familiar with distance education; free K-12 enrichment programs such as Nevada Virtual Academy and Nevada Connections Academy have been made available over the last decade. By 2013, six of the state's four-year colleges offered some form of online education, while the University of Nevada-Reno emerged as a leader in Nevada's online education, offering more than 200 online classes, over 145 online degree programs and numerous fully online graduate programs. Nevada has also participated in WICHE initiatives related to distance education, such as the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), a voluntary, nationwide initiative of states that strive to make distance education courses more accessible to students across state lines.

Currently, higher education in Nevada is experiencing an increase in both tuition cost and enrollment. Between 2006 and 2011, tuition prices spiked 65.8%, which can be partially attributed to inflation. However, a major culprit is the decrease in state spending on higher education, which dropped by 20.3% during the same timespan. Fortunately for students, programs like SARA are funded by more than $3 million in grants from Lumina Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Despite the increase in attendance price, Nevada's enrollment rates continue to grow faster than the national average, jumping 20.1% between 2006 and 2011. Nevada has a 46.2% graduation rate and a 77.1% first year retention rate.

Learn more about the top online colleges in Nevada, and explore higher education options further with our extensive database of all distance programs offered in the state. In addition, find some of Nevada's best scholarship opportunities to help lower the cost of your education using the State Facts page.