2023 Best Online Community Colleges in New Mexico

Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) is a public school that offers a few fully online associate degrees via CNM Online. The school's Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts degree is the most attended online program. Other options include an Associate of Arts in Business and an Associate of Applied Science in Cyber Security. In all, 26% of CNM enrollees graduate with their degrees.

The college hosts online courses on a learning management system called Brightspace. CNM is a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution, with 54% of the student population identifying as people of Latinx or Hispanic descent. Seventy percent of students are part-time enrollees, and 48% study online exclusively.

San Juan College (SJC), a public community college, offers online associate degrees and certificates in a range of subjects. These include popular certificates in medical coding and billing and surgical assisting, along with the high-enrollment Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts degree. SJC's graduation rate is 29%.

The college's online learners sign in to the Canvas LMS to complete coursework. Its student population contains 33% enrollees who identify as having American Indian or Alaska Native backgrounds, making this school a federally designated Native American-serving non-tribal institution. About two-thirds of students enroll on a part-time basis, and 40% take online-only programs.

New Mexico State University - Dona Ana (DACC) is a public university offering online associate degrees. Popular online associate degree programs at DACC include business management, criminal justice, and health information technology. These online degrees can be 64-65 credit hours, taking full-time students two years to complete. DACC accepts 100% of applicants, with 23% graduating.

DACC facilitates asynchronous and synchronous online learning on the learning management system Canvas. The student-to-faculty ratio at DACC is 19:1. Potential financial aid opportunities at DACC are scholarships, loans, and grants. Online student resources are academic advising, tutoring, a bookstore, and accessibility services. DACC offers several online degrees across various specialties.

The public Clovis Community College - New Mexico has several online associate degree and certificate programs on offer. Choices include some of Clovis's most popular programs, such as the Associate of General Studies and Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts degrees. These programs allow students to customize a multidisciplinary path that they can transfer into a bachelor's degree program after graduating. This college has a 21% graduation rate.

Clovis students tackle online coursework in the Canvas digital learning platform. The government has declared Clovis to be a Hispanic-serving institution: 52% of students come from Latinx or Hispanic backgrounds. Thirty-five percent of Clovis students are enrolled in exclusively online programs, and 61% of all enrollees study part time.

New Mexico State University - Alamogordo (NMSU-A) is a public institution that offers online associate degrees. NSMU-A is a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Some examples of online associate degree programs at NMSU-A include business management, criminal justice, and paralegal studies. At a minimum, the university requires students to complete 60 credit hours, taking full-time students two years to finish their degrees. The acceptance rate at NSMU-A is 100%, so its graduation rate is on the lower side — 16%.

At NMSU-A, online students complete coursework asynchronously and synchronously on Canvas. The student-to-faculty ratio at NMSU-A is 10:1. Online students may be eligible for financial aid like scholarships, loans, and grants. Online students at NMSU-A can access financial aid support, career services, advising, counseling, military and veteran services, and accessibility services. NMSU requires all online instructors to take a training course before hosting online classes in order to ensure they provide students with the best virtual learning environment.