2023 Best Online Community Colleges in Tennessee
Tennessee’s online community colleges offer affordability and convenience to budget-minded students who need flexibility. Students can benefit from community colleges by earning certificates, associate degrees, and transfer credits toward bachelor’s degrees without incurring significant student debt. Fields of study are broad and include education, healthcare, information technology, criminal justice, and many others.
Programs offered in the University Parallel program, as part of the Tennessee Transfer Pathway, guarantee the transferability of credits to all public universities offering bachelor’s degrees in the same majors. We’ve ranked the Volunteer State’s best online community colleges for 2023 by online student enrollment, highlighting the popularity of each school so you can choose the program that best meets your goals.
View our methodology for more details about our list, or learn more about OnlineU.
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Online Programs You May Be Interested In

South College
Annual Tuition: $17,025
7 Programs (view all)
List Of Accredited Online Schools
School | Online Enrollment | Annual Tuition |
---|---|---|
Volunteer State Community College | ||
Pellissippi State Community College | 1,408 | $16,608 |
Chattanooga State Community College | 1,217 | $15,727 |
Southwest Tennessee Community College | 1,215 | $16,928 |
Roane State Community College | 693 | $17,758 |
South College | 355 | $17,025 |
Volunteer State Community College
- Annual Tuition: $16,908
- Locations: Gallatin
- Accreditation: SACS COC
Volunteer State Community College (Vol State) offers various online associate degree programs. Online majors include diverse concentrations — such as cyber defense, communication studies, liberal arts, economics, teaching (K-5), and political science. Online technical certificates are also available, including those in fields such as fire science, medical coding, sleep diagnostic technology, and entrepreneurship, which can help students enter the job market without a degree. Vol State provides an array of online resources, such as academic coaching, tutoring, writing assistance, library services, and technical support to its distance learners.
Pellissippi State Community College
- Annual Tuition: $16,608
- Locations: Knoxville
- Accreditation: SACS COC
Located in Knoxville, Pellissippi State Community College (PSTCC) offers online degree and non-degree programs to distance learners. A student at PSTCC can enroll in an online Associate of Applied Science, Associate of Arts, or Associate of Science, which include focus subjects such as psychology, philosophy, social work, international affairs, and business administration. Online job-readiness diplomas/certificates include accessible web design, e-commerce web design, pre-business transfer, and web design tools. PSTCC also offers virtual services to its online students, including a bookstore, publisher resources, library services, tutoring, and proctoring.
Chattanooga State Community College
- Annual Tuition: $15,727
- Locations: Chattanooga
- Accreditation: SACS COC
The availability of over thirty online associate degrees, certificates, and non-credit courses makes Chattanooga State Community College (Chatt State) a convenient and affordable option for students desiring to attend school remotely. Disciplines include allied health, business, humanities and fine arts, social and behavioral science, and math and sciences. Students can choose online majors, such as special education, physics, math, and family and consumer sciences. Online technical certificates in mammography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are also available. Online student resources include library services, technical assistance, career services, and tutoring. Chatt State also provides free access to Ally document conversion services, HippoCampus supplemental instructional videos, and online mental health screenings.
Southwest Tennessee Community College
- Annual Tuition: $16,928
- Locations: Memphis (and 2 others)
- Accreditation: SACS COC
Southwest Tennessee Community College makes attending college more convenient by offering online associate degrees and technical certificate programs for students who want flexibility and independent study. Students can choose from a range of online associate degree programs, such as nursing, economics, early childhood education, foreign language, and history. Students eager to enter the workforce who aren’t interested in a degree can earn an online technical certificate in computer software or logistics/transportation management. Online student resources include free career assessments and resume services, writing assistance, tutoring, library services, and mental health counseling and social services.
Roane State Community College
- Annual Tuition: $17,758
- Locations: Harriman (and 8 others)
- Accreditation: SACS COC
Students can choose from six fully online associate degrees and two certificate programs at Roane State Community College. Associate degrees include a general Associate of Science transfer program; an Associate of Science Tennessee Transfer Pathway program in teaching, with a concentration in elementary education (K-5); and Applied Associate of Science programs in information technology, criminal justice, geographic information systems, and health information management. Certificate programs include computer information technology and geographic information systems for students interested in direct workforce entry. Roane State also offers dozens of online courses for students interested in taking just a few classes to brush up on skills. Distance learners can access student resources, such as library services and online tutoring.