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Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Alabama > Athens
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Athens offer fully online programs and report both credit for military training and a dedicated point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families (IPEDS IC 2024); 6 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is Redstone Arsenal, about 20 miles away, and 8 installations sit within 100 miles (1 Army, 2 Air Force, 2 National Guard, 3 Other). 1 of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is University of Alabama in Huntsville in Huntsville, AL, about 18 miles from city center. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is Samford University.
Schools based in Alabama that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Athens city center, with BOC Score on each card. The tags on each card are the school’s own IPEDS answers for the four military services. The distance table further down covers the nearest qualifying schools regardless of state line.
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS). To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked against schools at the same credential level:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Athens. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on CollegesIPEDSCollege Scorecard
| School | Location | Credit for military training | Dedicated military contact | DoD MOU member | Student veteran org | BOC Score | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samford University | Birmingham, AL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 66.9 | 92 mi |
| University of Alabama in Huntsville | Huntsville, AL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 65.0 | 18 mi |
| Itawamba Community College | Fulton, MS | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 63.0 | 90 mi |
| Lipscomb University | Nashville, TN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 62.5 | 92 mi |
| Belmont University | Nashville, TN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 61.1 | 94 mi |
| Herzing University-Nashville | Nashville, TN | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 61.1 | 96 mi |
| Academy of Allied Health Careers | Chattanooga, TN | Yes | Yes | No | No | 59.7 | 100 mi |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | Birmingham, AL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 58.6 | 89 mi |
| Northeast Mississippi Community College | Booneville, MS | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 56.6 | 92 mi |
| Middle Tennessee State University | Murfreesboro, TN | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 56.4 | 81 mi |
Alabama has 43 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the Alabama page lists them all.
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) | Branch (from the name) | Distance from Athens |
|---|---|---|
| Redstone Arsenal | Other | 20 mi |
| Arnold AFB | Air Force | 63 mi |
| Birmingham Airport | Other | 85 mi |
| National Guard Vts Smyrna | National Guard | 89 mi |
| National Guard Nashville | National Guard | 92 mi |
| Nashville Iap | Other | 93 mi |
| Fort McClellan Air National Guard Training Center | Air Force | 93 mi |
| Anniston Army Dep | Army | 97 mi |
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Huntsville, AL metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Scope | Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Security Analysts | $130,330 | Huntsville, AL metro | $139,989 |
| Logisticians | $117,060 | Huntsville, AL metro | $125,736 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers | $64,550 | Huntsville, AL metro | $69,334 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | $99,170 | Huntsville, AL metro | $106,520 |
| Project Management Specialists | $112,130 | Huntsville, AL metro | $120,440 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | $100,120 | Huntsville, AL metro | $107,540 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $124,380 | Huntsville, AL metro | $133,598 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
Benefit eligibility is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and your service’s education office. Nothing on this page guarantees education benefits, credit transfer, admission, or a particular cost. Confirm every detail with the school’s military or veteran services office before you enroll.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (IC 2024): veteran and military services indicators (VET2 through VET5), distance-education program flag (DISTPGS); BOC Score from College Scorecard and IPEDS outcome data; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 Military Installations layer (installation names as recorded there); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; Census ACS 5-year estimates. Directory counts as of the September 2026 refresh.
