At MassBay, our students come first. We recognize there are many demands on your time outside of school. Tailor your class schedule around everything else in your life, and earn your degree or certificate on your own time. We're not new to online learning - we had been teaching classes online for a decade prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. Take advantage of the convenience and quality of MassBay online.
For most Massachusetts residents who don't already have a bachelor's degree, MassBay is FREE. For others who are not eligible for the MassReconnect and MassEducate state programs, MassBay is still the most affordable option in higher education. Federal financial aid and a wide range of more than 50 scholarships are also available.
For more information about enrolling at MassBay, visit our Admissions Office, or contact our admissions team at 781-239-2500 or admissions@massbay.edu.
Choose from more than 200 online courses each semester. Ten associate degree and eight certificate programs can be completed fully online.
While some colleges have only recently tried online courses, MassBay has been offering online options for many years -- well before the Covid-19 pandemic.
MassBay Online credits can be used toward most bachelor’s degree programs, and through the MassTransfer program you can be guaranteed admission to the University of Massachusetts system and even pay less after your MassBay experience.
If you reside outside of Massachusetts, MassBay is a member of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), which means your course credits may be eligible for transfer to your home institution towards your degree there. SARA is an agreement among member states, districts, and territories of the United States. It establishes national standards for the interstate offering of distance education courses and programs.
To learn more about each program, please click on the name of the degree program to be directed to the relevant program webpage:
Accounting (Associate in Science) - 100% online
Accounting – MassTransfer (Associate in Science) - 100% online
Accounting (Certificate) - 100% online
Business Administration (Associate in Science) - 100% online
Criminal Justice (Associate in Science) - 100% online
General Business (Associate in Science) - 100% online
Management (Certificate) - 100% online
Marketing (Certificate) - 100% online
Paralegal Studies (Certificate) - 100% online
Communication (Associate in Arts) - 100% online
English (Associate in Arts) - 100% online
General Studies (Associate in Arts) - 100% online
Liberal Arts (Associate in Arts) - 100% online
Psychology and Sociology Concentration (Associate in Arts) - 100% online
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) (Certificate) - 100% online
Cybersecurity (Certificate) – 50% online (hybrid)
General Studies (Associate in Science) - 100% online
General Studies: Mathematics (Associate in Arts) - 100% online
Medical Assistant (Certificate) - 100% online
Medical Coding (Certificate) - 100% online
Medical Office Administrative Assistant (Certificate) - 50% online (hybrid)
MassBay uses Blackboard Learn™ system to conduct online and hybrid classes. As an online student, you would be expected to have regular access to wifi and a laptop or similar device, as well as have some basic technology skills and proficiency using software like MS Office 365. MassBay may be able to help if you need assistance with borrowing a laptop for your course. Please reach out to Student Development to inquire.
MassBay faculty design and teach our academic online courses. While the catalog descriptions for MassBay online courses are the same as those for our classroom-based courses, the teaching methods used in the two types of courses can be very different. You may be asked to submit written assignments, write and reply to posts on online discussion boards, watch online videos, listen to podcasts, take online tests or surveys, and create videos to accomplish learning goals and build an online community of learners.
Many students find completing an online course is more challenging than taking a face-to-face course since participation is about more than showing up to a class (see below regarding attendance in online classes). Because of the highly structured format of most online courses, you will need to be very organized and manage your time wisely in order to complete all activities by the stated deadline and be self- motivated to reach out to academic supports, like the Academic Achievement Center or tutoring services when you need help.
Most online courses at MassBay are fully online, asynchronous courses.This means that there is no requirement to come to campus or be online at a specific time of day. However, an online course may include an on-campus orientation session or proctored examinations. Online courses are not self-paced. They follow the same semester schedule as classroom-based courses. They include weekly assignment deadlines and course participation requirements. Online courses differ from classroom-based courses in that instruction is conducted entirely online using a variety of technologies.
Hybrid courses are those in which you are required to meet in person and on-campus at a specific time each week but also are required to complete activities in Blackboard by stated deadlines each week. So, instead of coming to campus twice a week to attend class, you might come to campus just once a week, and then complete activities in Blackboard in place of the other class meeting time. The proportion of online instruction to classroom instruction may vary from course to course because instructors design hybrid courses based on specific instructional objectives.
Changes to Federal financial aid regulations in recent years have highlighted the importance of accurate reporting on student attendance and participation in all courses, including distance education courses (online and hybrid/blended courses).
To quote from the Federal Student Aid Handbook:
In a distance education context, documenting that a student has logged into an online class is not sufficient, by itself, to demonstrate academic attendance by the student. A school must demonstrate that a student participated in class or was otherwise engaged in an academically related activity, such as by contributing to an online discussion or initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a course-related question.
— FSA Handbook 2013-2014, Volume 5, 5-60.
In order to comply with this federal financial aid regulation, the College provides the following guidance for faculty and students:
A student attends an online course (or the online portion of a hybrid/blended course) by participating in class or otherwise engaging in an academically related activity. Examples of such activity include but are not limited to: contributing to an online discussion or text chat session; submitting an assignment or working draft; working through exercises; taking a quiz or exam; viewing and/or completing a tutorial; initiating contact with a faculty member to ask a course-related question.
Such academically related activities are readily tracked and documented through the College’s learning management system, email system, and in some cases publisher websites. Documenting that a student has logged into an online class or website is not sufficient, by itself, to demonstrate academic attendance by the student. For example, if a student simply logs into an online course on September 15 and logs out, without any further activity, the student did not attend the online class on that day.
The U.S. Department of Education requires higher education institutions to be authorized to provide post-secondary educational instruction in their states. Many of these state laws and regulations also apply to online, distance, and correspondence educational instruction offered in that state.
Massachusetts Bay Community College is a member of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). SARA is an agreement among member states, districts, and territories of the United States. It establishes national standards for the interstate offering of distance education courses and programs. It simplifies the process of taking online classes at an institution of higher education based in another state. The New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) is one of four regional education compacts and is the compact that administers SARA for institutions located in Massachusetts. A national council (NC-SARA) oversees SARA and the regional compacts.
Massachusetts Bay Community College (MBCC) was approved by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to participate in SARA, and became a SARA institution in 2019. At this time, only California is not a member state. If you reside in California and are interested in taking an online class at MBCC, please contact Admissions by email
MassBay is required to provide current and prospective online learning students with contact information for filing complaints. Students who desire to resolve a grievance should follow the College’s Student Grievance Procedure as outlined in the Massachusetts Community College System Student Code of Conduct. Reports can be submitted through the Student Complaint Form.
For other complaints, please click on the relevant link below for more information, or email massbayonline@massbay.edu:
For Massachusetts Residents and Online Students in Non-SARA Member States and Territories Online students may file a complaint following procedures made available by MassBay Community College, located on this webpage. As well, the student may file a complaint with the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education (DHE) by using the general complaint form at any time. The DHE general complaint form should be used by students who are located in:
For Online Students Located in SARA Member States and Territories, please consult the SARA Member States and Territories Directory.
After the student has exhausted the complaint procedures made available by MassBay Community College, located on this webpage, if the complaint has not been resolved, the student may file a complaint with the DHE by using the SARA complaint form. The DHE SARA complaint form should be used by students who are located in SARA member states and territories. This includes all students who are located in SARA member states and territories for the purposes of completing out-of-state learning placements, such as internships, practica, clinical experiences, etc. in SARA member states and territories outside Massachusetts.
Additional information from the DHE’s SARA complaint website is below: The SARA complaint process is as follows:
More information about DHE’s complaint processes can be found Mass. Dept. of Education Complaint Policy and Process.