A Smarter Way to Find Affordable Online Programs

College Collective Helps Students Find Online Degrees From Community Colleges

At Chegg, our mission is to put students first and we feel strongly that, as part of this mission, we must find ways to help students address the ever-encumbering financial costs of learning. We are deeply passionate about eliminating barriers, reducing friction and supporting all students on the path from learning to earning. 

A Front Door to Online Learning

Today, we’re launching a free service called College Collective to help students find low-cost online degree programs from community colleges. 

As many would-be college students reassess their plans for the fall, we want to raise their awareness of the large number of affordable online programs available to them from public community colleges across the country. To help them, we’ve launched College Collective, a free directory of over 1,400 fully-online certificate and degree programs available from over 100 community colleges across the country.

Free for Students and Free for Community Colleges 

All of the programs in College Collective are 100% fully-online, maximizing flexibility for prospective students. Students are able to browse programs and connect directly to the college’s website to answer additional questions and enroll online.

College Collective is a free resource for both students and public community colleges. Schools can list their fully-online degree and certificate programs for free on the website. We will continue to expand the directory of programs for students.

Thousands of Affordable Online Programs

Over the past decade, community colleges have quietly launched thousands of online degree programs with little fanfare. Many prospective students may not be aware of their existence or affordability. 

While costs have risen sharply at both public and private 4-year schools, community colleges have kept costs down and tuition low. Students in California can earn a degree online while paying as little as $1,380 for annual in-state tuition. The nationwide average annual in-state tuition for community college in 2018-2019 was $3,660 per year, which is less than 40% of the average in-state tuition cost at public 4-year schools and slightly more than 10% of the average annual cost of tuition at a private college.

Most Learners Choose Online Programs Close to Home

Community colleges also play an important role aligning with the workforce needs of local labor markets. 44% of online college students enroll at a college or university within 25 miles of their home. Public community colleges offer lower tuition rates to in-state students. College Collective prioritizes students’ in-state options when comparing similar programs.

Start Your Degree. Complete Your Degree. Transfer to a 4-year University.

Many community colleges have credit transfer agreements with public state systems for students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree. On average, students lose 43% of credits when they transfer, which costs them time, money, and affects their likelihood to graduate. 

We’re working with a short list of innovative, four-year universities to help students select community colleges based on the transferability of the credits – streamlining their path to graduation.

Chegg Puts Students First

At Chegg, our mission is to put students first, that’s why we’ve partnered with companies to help students get access to emergency grants, launched Chegg Money to provide expert financial advice, and are now rolling out College Collective to help students find high-quality, low-cost programs to expand access to higher education. We continue to be optimistic about the ability of higher education to open doors to economic and professional opportunities. 

Interested colleges can learn more here.