Tuition is per-credit and program-banded: general bachelor's work around $215 per credit, master's and certificate courses around $235, doctoral around $306, with nursing's RN to BSN the premium lane at roughly $380 to $385. In whole-degree terms that is an M.Ed. Elementary near $9,976, an RN to BSN near $11,550, and a 31-credit MBA in the same understated neighborhood, sums other universities charge per year. Payment runs lump sum, pay-by-course, or monthly plan, and because ACE skips federal Title IV aid, the sticker is the real price rather than the pre-aid fiction. The two leaks: retaken courses, which repay their full sticker, and C grades at a college whose graduate floor is a 3.0.
The rate table, in per-course terms
| Band | Per credit | Typical 3-credit course | Whole-degree scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| General bachelor's | ~$215 | ~$645 | completion programs priced like used cars, not houses |
| Master's and certificates | ~$235 | ~$705 | M.Ed. Elementary ~$9,976 across 34 credits |
| Doctoral | ~$306 | ~$918 | Ed.D. and DNP staged affordably by design |
| RN to BSN | ~$380 to $385 | ~$1,140 to $1,155 | ~$11,550 across 30 credits |
Small fees orbit the tuition, application, a phone-payment convenience charge, reinstatement if enrollment lapses, and your enrollment counselor's written quote is the final digit for your program and start.
What the no-Title-IV model changes
Skipping federal aid is a deliberate trade: ACE keeps prices low enough to pay directly, and students fund through savings, employers, or private financing. Three practical consequences. Budgeting is honest, the sticker is the spend, with no loan-servicing tail. Employer assistance goes further here than almost anywhere, a district's or hospital's annual education benefit can cover entire terms. And every avoidable charge is your money specifically, not an abstraction dissolved into a loan balance, which sharpens the next section considerably.
The two leaks, priced
- The retake: a failed course repays $645 to $1,155 out of pocket and inserts a term into the calendar; first-attempt clearance through the assessment desk costs a fraction of one
- The C at a 3.0-floor college: not a cash leak, a standing leak, every graduate C obligates future As, per the grading manual, and repairs are paid in the currency above
- The transfer left unclaimed: the Prior Credit Evaluation is the only genuine discount at a per-credit school; run it before registering, per the admissions manual
Where support fits math this small
At most universities our pitch leans on four-figure retakes; at ACE the tuition is modest enough that the honest ledger shifts to time and standing: the working teacher's evenings across a five-week term, the 3.0 line under a heavy season, the degree finishing a term early because the writing never bottlenecked. Support here costs meaningful money relative to a $705 course, and we say so plainly, which is why the free sample and the comparison page exist: run your own numbers with the evidence in hand.
Price the degree, then protect it
Send your program and remaining courses. The pay-by-course math comes back free, both paces.
Sources and verification
Facts on this page come from official and independent sources, and anything that matters is worth checking against the originals:
- ace.edu: American College of Education's official site, the primary source for tuition bands, program totals, and payment options
- www.hlcommission.org: Higher Learning Commission, the institutional accreditor
- www.ccneaccreditation.org: Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, the nursing accreditor
- apastyle.apa.org: APA Style, the official style authority behind the formatting rules