Community Colleges Offering Bachelors Degrees

[GoBroncos95]

Was scrolling reddit the other day and I found a post that was talking about affordable schools and I found a link which is a database of community colleges that offer bachelors degrees. A lot of these schools have fully online bachelors as low as $179 a credit and possible lower if you live within that state. 

https://www.accbd.org/state-inventory/

Thought It'd be useful here for anyone not looking to do CBE.

[LevelUP]

Was scrolling reddit the other day and I found a post that was talking about affordable schools and I found a link which is a database of community colleges that offer bachelors degrees. A lot of these schools have fully online bachelors as low as $179 a credit and possible lower if you live within that state. 

https://www.accbd.org/state-inventory/

Thought It'd be useful here for anyone not looking to do CBE.

Tennessee is a deep-red state and has no income tax or capital gains tax, yet it has found a way to offer free community college. Things have changed quite a bit over the past five years or so, with a lot of states finding ways to reduce college costs.

Tennessee Promise — for recent Tennessee high-school graduates. It is a last-dollar scholarship, meaning Pell, HOPE, TSAA, etc. are applied first, and Tennessee Promise pays the remaining tuition and mandatory fees. It can be used at all 13 Tennessee public community colleges and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology.  

Tennessee Reconnect — essentially the adult version. It allows qualifying adults, generally age 23+ or FAFSA-independent, who don't already have an associate or bachelor's degree to pursue an associate degree or certificate tuition-free. Tennessee's May 2026 evaluation specifically describes it as covering tuition and mandatory fees for eligible adults.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

Was scrolling reddit the other day and I found a post that was talking about affordable schools and I found a link which is a database of community colleges that offer bachelors degrees. A lot of these schools have fully online bachelors as low as $179 a credit and possible lower if you live within that state. 

https://www.accbd.org/state-inventory/

Thought It'd be useful here for anyone not looking to do CBE.

Tennessee is a deep-red state and has no income tax or capital gains tax, yet it has found a way to offer free community college. Things have changed quite a bit over the past five years or so, with a lot of states finding ways to reduce college costs.

Tennessee Promise — for recent Tennessee high-school graduates. It is a last-dollar scholarship, meaning Pell, HOPE, TSAA, etc. are applied first, and Tennessee Promise pays the remaining tuition and mandatory fees. It can be used at all 13 Tennessee public community colleges and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology.  

Tennessee Reconnect — essentially the adult version. It allows qualifying adults, generally age 23+ or FAFSA-independent, who don't already have an associate or bachelor's degree to pursue an associate degree or certificate tuition-free. Tennessee's May 2026 evaluation specifically describes it as covering tuition and mandatory fees for eligible adults.

Northern New Mexico College has several bachelor programs that can be completed online:

• BBA - Accounting
  
• BBA
  
• BA/AA - Early Childhood Education
  
• BA/AA - Elementary Education
  
• BBA - Management
  
• BBA Project Management
  
• RN to BSN
  

Tuition rates are pretty decent, BUT what's even better is that this might actually be a really friendly college for military individuals who can get "90 percent of any category" (New Mexico Resident, Senior Residents Age 65+, Non-Residents). Not bad. So for those that are non-residents for the online programs (let's say Full-Time); it's 90% of the $320 per credit (if I'm understanding this correctly).

[NotJoeBiden]

Tennessee is a deep-red state and has no income tax or capital gains tax, yet it has found a way to offer free community college. Things have changed quite a bit over the past five years or so, with a lot of states finding ways to reduce college costs.

They are funded through a state-run lottery. So not a direct tax, but such lotteries function as a tax. I would argue an ineffective, regressive, and exploitative tax.

[SteveFoerster]

Tennessee is a deep-red state and has no income tax or capital gains tax, yet it has found a way to offer free community college. Things have changed quite a bit over the past five years or so, with a lot of states finding ways to reduce college costs.

They are funded through a state-run lottery. So not a direct tax, but such lotteries function as a tax. I would argue an ineffective, regressive, and exploitative tax.

It's a tax on being bad at math, so in a sense the proceeds funding education are at least poetically appropriate....

[LevelUP]

They are funded through a state-run lottery. So not a direct tax, but such lotteries function as a tax. I would argue an ineffective, regressive, and exploitative tax.

The Tennessee state lottery was created in 2004, long before its free community college programs started.

Forty-five states have lotteries. At least it’s a voluntary regressive tax because nobody is forced to play the lottery.

And looking at the bigger picture, WalletHub ranks Tennessee as having the 3rd-lowest overall state and local tax burden as a share of personal income.
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-hi...hatgpt.com

It's a tax on being bad at math, so in a sense the proceeds funding education are at least poetically appropriate....

There are certainly gambling games with much better odds than the lottery.

There is also a certain irony in criticizing capitalism and the rich while buying lottery tickets for the chance to become rich.

[Mint Berry Crunch]

Tennessee is a deep-red state and has no income tax or capital gains tax, yet it has found a way to offer free community college. Things have changed quite a bit over the past five years or so, with a lot of states finding ways to reduce college costs.

They are funded through a state-run lottery. So not a direct tax, but such lotteries function as a tax. I would argue an ineffective, regressive, and exploitative tax.

Idk why, but I'm reminded of the poultry industry's "tournament system" featured in Super Size Me 2: Holy chicken!

It's a vicious rank-based cycle in which the top farmers receive higher bonuses and funding based on how well the chickens are doing and those at the bottom get their pay slashed which effectively renders them unable to compete with other farmers and operating costs associated with raising/growing chickens, leaving them to sometimes shutdown their farms.