Online-only colleges
Study online
Some Christian colleges enroll mostly students who study online, from home or wherever they live. A campus chapel or a residence-hall Bible study does not reach those students, so these colleges are rated on an online checklist instead. The same rule applies as everywhere else: an item counts only when an official source documents it.
These colleges leave the campus rankings and the Honor Roll. Each one stays in search, and its page shows its full record.
Online colleges
Campus colleges with online programs
207 campus colleges offer online programs next to their classes. The top six by Compass Score are below.
- Compass Score
- Compass Score
- Compass Score
- Compass Score
Harding University
FaithExcellentAcademicsStrong - Compass Score
Azusa Pacific University
FaithExcellentAcademicsStrong - Compass Score
How online colleges are rated
Online-only colleges are colleges where 90% or more of students study only online. They are graded on an online checklist (below): online worship and prayer, Bible and theology, community and service. A campus chapel schedule does not reach students at home, so each item asks what the college offers online. A college with too little documented is shown as partly researched, never with a guessed grade.
Questions to ask an online Christian college
- How do online students take part in chapel or worship: live, recorded, or both? Is attendance tracked?
- Who mentors an online student, and how often do they meet?
- What does community look like from far away: small groups, prayer teams, service projects, or events near home?
- Which Bible and theology courses does every degree require, and can you see the syllabus?
Read the methodology, which lists every item and its source.
What the online checklist asks
- Online worship and prayer. How students worship and pray together online: chapel streams, worship nights, prayer and a published schedule.
- Bible and theology. Required Bible, theology and worldview study, and whether the college states its faith.
- Christian community online. Staff who support online students' faith, online groups, faculty who affirm the statement of faith, and an office for spiritual life.
- Missions and service. Service offices, service-learning, local partnerships and service rooted in the Christian mission.

