Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Indiana > Columbus
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Columbus 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); 7 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is Camp Atterbury, about 9 miles away, and 8 installations sit within 100 miles (2 Army, 1 Navy, 2 National Guard, 3 Other). None of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is Indiana University-Bloomington in Bloomington, IN, about 33 miles away. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is Purdue University-Main Campus.
Military-friendly online colleges near Columbus
Schools based in Indiana that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Columbus 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.
How We Rank Schools
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:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Columbus.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Graduation rate
81%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$63,742
Avg net price
$16,264/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 91%
- Programs offered: 192
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
76%
Graduation rate
54%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$55,198
Avg net price
$11,668/yr
TuitionIn‑state$10,762
Out‑of‑state$34,891
Key stats
- Retention rate: 72%
- Programs offered: 204
Source:Accreditor: Higher Learning Commission · IPEDS · College Scorecard
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
82%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$77,235
Avg net price
$36,041/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 88%
- Programs offered: 83
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
38%
Avg net price
$21,957/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 64%
- Programs offered: 5
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
40%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$47,596
Avg net price
$7,888/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 67%
- Programs offered: 62
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
52%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$47,156
Avg net price
$8,134/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 62%
- Programs offered: 42
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
65%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$51,833
Avg net price
$14,940/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 77%
- Programs offered: 175
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
46%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$48,387
Avg net price
$10,873/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 67%
- Programs offered: 102
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Nearest qualifying schools within 100 miles (any state)
| School |
Location |
Credit for military training |
Dedicated military contact |
DoD MOU member |
Student veteran org |
BOC Score |
Distance |
| Purdue University-Main Campus |
West Lafayette, IN |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
86.0 |
99 mi |
| Indiana University-Bloomington |
Bloomington, IN |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
82.4 |
33 mi |
| Butler University |
Indianapolis, IN |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
73.4 |
46 mi |
| The Christ College of Nursing and Health Sciences |
Cincinnati, OH |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
68.9 |
76 mi |
| Miami University-Oxford |
Oxford, OH |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
67.4 |
67 mi |
| Taylor University |
Upland, IN |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
65.6 |
89 mi |
| Xavier University |
Cincinnati, OH |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
65.3 |
78 mi |
| Kettering College |
Kettering, OH |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
64.5 |
98 mi |
| University of Cincinnati-Main Campus |
Cincinnati, OH |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
64.2 |
76 mi |
| Ball State University |
Muncie, IN |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
63.4 |
74 mi |
Indiana has 33 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the Indiana page lists them all.
Military installations near Columbus
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) |
Branch (from the name) |
Distance from Columbus |
| Camp Atterbury |
Army |
9 mi |
| Muscatatuck Urban Training Center |
Other |
24 mi |
| National Guard Shelbyville |
National Guard |
26 mi |
| National Guard Indianapolis 38 Id |
National Guard |
41 mi |
| Knightatown |
Other |
44 mi |
| Fort Benjamin Harrison |
Army |
45 mi |
| Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane |
Navy |
54 mi |
| Louisville Iap Standiford |
Other |
72 mi |
Common post-service careers near Columbus
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Columbus, IN metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation |
Median annual wage |
Scope |
Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
| Information Security Analysts |
$94,770 |
Columbus, IN metro |
$101,903 |
| Logisticians |
$100,720 |
Columbus, IN metro |
$108,301 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers |
$72,500 |
Columbus, IN metro |
$77,957 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers |
$101,380 |
Columbus, IN metro |
$109,011 |
| Project Management Specialists |
$91,510 |
Columbus, IN metro |
$98,398 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators |
$86,050 |
Columbus, IN metro |
$92,527 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
Campuses within 30 miles of Columbus
None of the 10 schools in the table has a campus within 30 miles of Columbus; the nearest is Indiana University-Bloomington at 33 miles.
Nearby cities
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.
