Polaris
Regionally accredited · Est. 2009

Polaris is a fully online, regionally accredited university for adults who refuse to choose between a paycheck and a diploma. Real professors who grade your work, transcripts that transfer, degrees that licensing boards accept — on a schedule that bends around the job, the kids, and the 3am feed.

Where our graduates clock in — and move up

Meridian HealthCascade Public SchoolsHarbor City GovernmentNorthbridge BankSummit LogisticsVista Medical Group

We publish the only numbers that matter: who finishes, and what happens after.

73%
Graduation rate for full-time adult students
94%
Employed or promoted within a year of finishing
31
Median age of a Polaris student
16:1
Students per faculty member
How Polaris works

A university built aroundthe week you already have.

We tore out the parts of higher education that punish busy adults — the rigid semesters, the silent lecture halls, the fees that show up after you enroll — and kept the parts that change a paycheck.

Eight-week terms, six starts a year

Take one or two courses at a time instead of juggling five. New terms begin every two months, so you start when you're ready and step back when life demands it — without losing your place in line.

Taught by faculty, not playlists

Every course is led by a credentialed professor who grades your work, answers your email, and signs the recommendation letter your next job asks for. Office hours run evenings and weekends, by video.

One success coach, all four years

The same coach stays with you from application to graduation — mapping your degree plan, flagging deadlines before they bite, and picking up the phone the week everything goes sideways.

Credit for what you already know

Transfer up to 90 prior credits, then earn more from work experience, military training, and professional certifications. Plenty of students arrive halfway to a degree they didn't know they'd started.

School that fits in your pocket

Lectures, readings, discussion boards, and proctored exams all live in one app that works offline. Download a week of coursework before a flight, a deployment, or a stretch of road with no signal.

From inquiry to first class

Enrolled in a week,not a whole summer.

No campus visit, no entrance exam, no months of limbo. Four steps stand between the tab you're reading and your first assignment — and a person walks you through every one.

1 — Apply free in ~20 minutes

One short form, no application fee, no SAT, no admissions essay. You'll hear back within two business days, often the same afternoon.

2 — Send us your transcripts

Upload old transcripts and any training records. We run a free, no-commitment credit evaluation so you see exactly where you'll start before you owe a dollar.

3 — Build the plan with your coach

Your success coach maps every term to graduation, lines up aid and employer reimbursement, and shows you the real finish date in writing.

4 — Start at the next eight-week term

Pick your courses, get the app, meet your professor. A new term opens every two months, so you're rarely waiting more than a few weeks to begin.

Schools & degrees

Six schools. One transcript that travels.

Choose from more than sixty associate, bachelor's, and master's programs — each one mapped to the licenses, certifications, and roles employers are hiring for right now.

BBA · MBA

School of Business

Accounting, management, supply chain, and an MBA you can finish in eighteen months without leaving the job that's paying for it.

RN-to-BSN · MSN

School of Nursing & Health

CCNE-aligned tracks for working nurses, with clinical placements arranged near your home — not three hours across the state.

BS · Certificates

School of Technology

Cybersecurity, software development, and data analytics, rebuilt each year around the certifications hiring managers screen for.

BA · M.Ed

School of Education

Teacher licensure and instructional-design pathways approved across multiple state boards, with student teaching placed in your district.

BS · MPA

School of Public Service

Criminal justice, public administration, and human services for the dispatchers, case workers, and officers who keep towns running.

BA · MS

School of Psychology

Counseling foundations, organizational psychology, and a research-ready master's for the people aiming at the licensure track.

Graduate stories

Degrees earned between shifts, bedtimes, and double overtime.

I finished my RN-to-BSN in twenty months working nights in the ICU. My professor knew my name and my floor and worked around my rotations. I made charge nurse the month I graduated.

R
Renata Solis
BSN '25 · Critical Care Nurse, Meridian Health

I had eighty transfer credits sitting useless for a decade. Polaris counted almost all of them, plus my Army logistics training. Eleven months later I had the bachelor's my promotion required.

M
Marcus DeLeon
BBA '24 · Operations Manager, Summit Logistics

As a single parent I needed a school that wouldn't punish me for one bad month. My coach helped me drop to a single course, then build back up. I walked at graduation with both my kids in the seats.

A
Aisha Bello
BA Education '25 · Third-grade Teacher, Cascade Public Schools
Tuition

Tuition you can read on a single line.

A flat per-credit rate with no surprise fees, locked for the length of your program. Federal aid, scholarships, and employer reimbursement all accepted.

Associate & Bachelor's

Undergraduate degrees and certificates.

$330/credit
  • Rate locked for your full program
  • Transfer up to 90 credits
  • Free e-textbooks on most courses
  • Dedicated success coach included
Most popular

Master's

Graduate degrees for working professionals.

$455/credit
  • Finish many programs in 18 months
  • Capstone built on your own job
  • Evening and weekend video office hours
  • Career and licensure advising
  • Alumni network access for life

Employer Partners

For companies upskilling their workforce.

Custom
  • Direct-billed tuition reimbursement
  • Cohort discounts for teams
  • Manager dashboards on progress
  • Custom degree pathways
  • A dedicated partnership manager

The questions adult students actually ask.

Is Polaris a real, accredited university?

Yes. Polaris is regionally accredited — which means your credits transfer, your degree is recognized by employers and licensing boards, and you can apply for federal financial aid. Several schools also carry programmatic accreditation in nursing, business, and education.

How long will my degree actually take?

It depends on your transfer credits and pace. With a full transfer block, many students finish a bachelor's in under two years and a master's in roughly eighteen months. Run your transcript through our free credit evaluation and we'll show you the real finish date before you apply.

Can I afford this while working?

Tuition is a flat per-credit rate, locked for your whole program, with no technology, library, or graduation fees tacked on later. Most students combine federal aid, scholarships, and employer reimbursement, and a financial-aid advisor builds the plan with you before term one.

Do I have to log in at a set time?

No. Coursework is asynchronous, so you study when your week allows — the early shift, a lunch break, after the kids are down. Deadlines land weekly, and the live office hours that exist run evenings and weekends, never business-hours-only.

What if I have to step away for a term?

Life happens, and the calendar is built for it. You can pause between eight-week terms and return at the next start with your progress intact. Your success coach plans both the break and the comeback so nothing quietly expires while you're gone.

The degree you keep postponing could start in eight weeks.

Apply free in about twenty minutes. Get your transfer credits evaluated and a real graduation date in writing before you commit to a single class.