Online College Review: Regis University

January 9, 2026

Regis University is a private, nonprofit Jesuit university in Denver, Colorado, founded in 1877 and offering accelerated online, evening, and campus-based programs for adult learners in healthcare, business, technology, and the social sciences. This review covers Regis’s programs, accreditation, career outcomes data, cost structure, and how it compares to alternatives so prospective students can evaluate whether it is the right fit.

Quick Facts Regis University
Founded 1877
Institutional type Private, nonprofit Jesuit Catholic university
Location Denver, Colorado
Accreditation Higher Learning Commission (HLC)
Total enrollment 5,754 students
Student-to-faculty ratio 9:1
Special designation Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI); one of only two Jesuit universities with this designation
2025 median graduate salary $72,057 (First Destination Survey)
Graduates employed or in education 90%
Degree programs 83 degree programs; 36 certificate programs
Strongest online program areas Nursing, health care administration, business, cybersecurity, applied psychology, criminal justice

 

What Regis University Is

Regis University is the only Jesuit, Catholic university in the Rocky Mountain region and one of 27 Jesuit universities in the United States. Founded in 1877 by the Society of Jesus, Regis carries a mission centered on education for the whole person: academic rigor combined with ethical leadership, community engagement, and social responsibility. That mission is not peripheral to the academic program. It shapes curriculum design, faculty hiring, and the institutional culture that graduate students describe as meaningfully different from purely career-transactional education.

Regis operates at a scale of approximately 5,800 students, which places it in a different category from large national online mega-universities. At 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, it is closer in instructional model to a small liberal arts college than to a large-scale distance learning institution. For adult learners who specifically want faculty interaction, advising relationships, and smaller cohort learning environments alongside online scheduling flexibility, this scale difference is practically significant.

Regis is also federally designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), one of only two Jesuit universities in the country to hold that designation. With 39% Hispanic representation among full-time undergraduates and 67% among first-generation students, Regis has built programming, advising infrastructure, and curriculum specifically for this population rather than simply reflecting demographic enrollment patterns.

Online Program Explorer Tool

Accreditation and Programmatic Credentials

Regis holds HLC (Higher Learning Commission) regional accreditation. For prospective students, this means federal financial aid eligibility, general employer and graduate school recognition of the credential, and standard credit transferability to other regionally accredited institutions.

Programmatic Accreditation by Field

Program Area Accreditation / Credential Practical Significance
Nursing (RN to BSN, MSN) CCNE (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education) Required by most hospital employers and graduate nursing programs; supports NP licensure pathways
Business programs Verify AACSB or ACBSP status directly Programmatic business accreditation affects graduate school access and competitive employer recognition
Counseling / Mental Health CACREP (if applicable; verify per program) CACREP required by many state boards for LPC licensure eligibility
Education programs State-level approval for licensure programs Verify Colorado and target state approval for any licensure track
All programs HLC institutional accreditation Federal aid eligibility, employer recognition, credit transferability

CCNE accreditation for Regis’s nursing programs is a meaningful credential indicator. Most major hospital employers specifically require graduation from CCNE or ACEN-accredited programs for clinical nursing roles, charge nurse eligibility, and graduate nursing program admission. Regis’s CCNE status means nursing graduates meet that standard.

For a complete guide to accreditation verification, see: What Makes an Online University Legitimate?

The Jesuit Academic Model and What It Means in Practice

The Jesuit educational tradition at Regis is worth understanding specifically rather than treating as branding language. Jesuit education is characterized by several commitments that have direct implications for what the academic experience looks like:

Cura Personalis (Care for the Whole Person)

Jesuit education emphasizes educating students as whole people rather than credential-delivery systems. At Regis, this translates into advising relationships that engage with students’ professional goals and personal circumstances, curriculum that integrates ethical reasoning into applied fields, and a campus culture where faculty engagement is expected rather than optional. For adult learners who have experienced impersonal online institutions where they felt like account numbers rather than students, the scale and culture difference at Regis is a real differentiator.

Ethics and Social Justice Integration

Regis programs integrate ethical frameworks, social responsibility, and justice-oriented perspectives across disciplines. A healthcare administration student at Regis engages with health equity frameworks alongside operational management content. A business student engages with corporate social responsibility and stakeholder ethics alongside finance and marketing. For students who are drawn to this integration, it distinguishes Regis from programs that treat ethics as a single elective rather than a through-line of the curriculum.

For students who prefer purely secular, non-values-integrated academic content, this characteristic is worth evaluating honestly before enrolling. Like Regent University’s Christian worldview integration, Regis’s Jesuit framework is a substantive feature of the curriculum, not a passive branding element.

Online Program Explorer Tool

Programs Available in Online and Accelerated Formats

Healthcare and Nursing

Healthcare represents a strong program area at Regis, both in terms of CCNE accreditation quality and employer relationships in the Denver regional market.

Program Degree Level Notes
RN to BSN (online completion) Bachelor’s CCNE accredited; designed for working RNs; fully online
MS in Nursing Master’s CCNE accredited; NP and other specialization tracks
Health Care Administration (BS) Bachelor’s Administrative credential; growing healthcare management field
Health Care Administration (MS) Master’s Graduate management credential for healthcare leaders

Business and Accounting

  • Business Administration (BS, MBA): applied business credential with Jesuit ethical leadership framework
  • Accounting (BS): accounting credential; verify CPA exam preparation alignment
  • Accelerated MBA options for working professionals

Technology and Cybersecurity

  • Computer Information Systems (BS)
  • Cybersecurity (BS, certificate)
  • Data analytics emphasis available in select programs

For IT career context, see: Which Online IT Degree Has the Best Career Outlook?

Social Sciences and Public Service

  • Applied Psychology (BS): non-licensure undergraduate credential; graduate study prerequisite for clinical pathways
  • Criminal Justice (BS)
  • Communication and Public Relations

Career Outcomes: What the First Destination Data Shows

Regis publishes First Destination Survey data that tracks where graduates go after completing their degrees. This type of institutionally published outcome data is more reliable than general sector averages for evaluating a specific institution’s actual outcomes.

Outcome Metric Regis University Data
Graduates employed, in continued education, or both 90%
Graduates working in occupation related to major 79%
2025 median salary (all graduates) $72,057
Undergraduate median salary $71,531
Graduate median salary $73,141

 

Source: Regis University First Destination Survey, 2025.

 

What These Numbers Mean in Context

A 2025 median graduate salary of $72,057 compares favorably to the BLS 2024 national median annual wage of $49,500 across all occupations, indicating that Regis graduates are entering the workforce at meaningfully above-median compensation levels. The 79% rate of graduates working in an occupation related to their major suggests a strong degree-to-job alignment that is higher than many national averages.

The caveat, as with any First Destination Survey data, is self-selection in survey response and the fact that outcomes vary significantly by program. Healthcare, business, and computing graduates report stronger median earnings than programs with lower salary ceilings. Use the federal College Scorecard at collegescorecard.ed.gov to look up median earnings for your specific program at Regis before making an enrollment decision.

Representative Employers

Regis alumni are employed across a broad range of industries, with particular concentration in the Denver and Rocky Mountain regional market:

  • HCA Healthcare and other major Colorado health systems
  • Denver Public Schools and Colorado educational institutions
  • Children’s Hospital Colorado
  • Walgreens and pharmaceutical companies
  • Nonprofit organizations and community service entities
  • Technology companies in the Denver-Boulder tech corridor

For broader salary context by field, see: Do Online Degrees Really Increase Salary? What the Data Shows

Online Program Explorer Tool

Academic Structure: Accelerated Terms and Transfer Flexibility

Accelerated Term Format

Regis delivers most of its adult-learner programs in five-, seven-, or eight-week accelerated course formats with multiple enrollment start dates throughout the year. This structure allows adult learners to move through their degrees at a faster annual credit accumulation rate than traditional two-semester programs while maintaining the flexibility to begin enrollment when their circumstances allow rather than waiting for a fall or spring semester window.

The accelerated format does not reduce academic rigor or total credit requirements. It compresses the calendar timeline while maintaining the same learning objectives and faculty interaction that characterize Regis’s on-campus programs. Online courses are delivered asynchronously with structured weekly requirements, discussion participation, and faculty feedback cycles.

Transfer Credit Policy

Regis accepts up to 87 transfer credits from regionally accredited institutions, and also evaluates AP, IB, CLEP, and DSST exam credits, plus military training through ACE recommendations. For adult learners who attended college previously, this transfer credit acceptance can substantially reduce both the total credits required and the total cost.

Transfer Credits Credits Remaining (120-credit degree) Estimated Timeline (2 courses/term) Approx. Tuition Saved
0 credits 120 credits ~3-4 years N/A (baseline)
60 credits (associate degree) 60 credits ~2 years Half of total tuition
87 credits (maximum) 33 credits ~12-15 months 72.5% of total tuition

 

Regis reports awarding nearly $1 million annually in scholarships specifically for transfer students, making it one of the more explicitly transfer-supportive private universities in the region.

 

Cost and Financial Aid

Regis is a private nonprofit institution, which means its published tuition rates are above public university alternatives. However, the institution’s financial aid model and transfer scholarship investment mean that the actual net cost for many students is meaningfully lower than the sticker price suggests.

Cost Structure

Regis charges tuition per course for its accelerated online and evening programs rather than per semester. This structure means students pay for the credits they take rather than a flat semester rate, which can reduce costs for students who are completing degrees efficiently with transfer credits and who may not be taking maximum credit loads in every term.

Financial Aid Profile

Financial Aid Metric Regis University Data
First-time, full-time freshmen receiving aid 100%
Total financial aid awarded annually $123.8 million
Average freshman financial aid package $43,199
Transfer student scholarships awarded Nearly $1 million annually

Cost Comparison

Institution Type Online UG Per-Credit (approx.) Context
Regis University Private nonprofit / Jesuit Verify directly (varies) Higher than public; strong outcomes data
SNHU Online Private nonprofit $330/credit Lower cost; secular; no Jesuit tradition
Colorado State University Online Public ~$340-$500/credit (varies) Public university in same region; lower cost
University of Colorado Online Public ~$350-$450/credit Public R1; regional employer recognition
WGU Private nonprofit ~$4,270/6-month term Lowest cost; no campus; competency-based

For adult learners in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region, Regis competes against Colorado State University Global and University of Colorado Online as well as SNHU and WGU. The key differentiator for Regis against public alternatives is the 9:1 faculty ratio, CCNE nursing accreditation, and the Jesuit educational tradition. For students who value those features, the cost premium over public alternatives is more justifiable than for students to whom they are neutral.

For a complete financial aid guide, see: FAFSA for Online Students: What to Know Before You Apply and The Safest Way to Finance an Online Bachelor’s Degree

The 9:1 Student-to-Faculty Ratio: What It Actually Means

A 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio is significantly lower than most online universities. For context, many large national online institutions operate at 25:1 to 40:1 or higher. At 9:1, the instructional experience at Regis is structurally closer to a small private liberal arts college than a scaled online university, even in its online and accelerated programs.

In practice, this ratio translates into:

  • Smaller class sizes in online courses, which produces more faculty feedback on individual assignments and more substantive discussion board interactions
  • More accessible academic advising with advisors who have lower caseloads and can engage with individual student situations more deeply
  • Faculty who are more likely to know students by name and professional context rather than ID number

For adult learners who have previously experienced impersonal large-scale online programs where feedback felt automated or generic, this structural difference is worth weighting in the program comparison. For students who are primarily self-directed and who do not particularly value intensive faculty interaction, it is a less differentiating feature.

Online Program Explorer Tool

Who Should and Should Not Seriously Consider Regis

Regis Is Likely a Strong Fit If:

  • You want a values-integrated Jesuit education that combines career preparation with ethical leadership development and community engagement, and that framing is meaningful to you rather than irrelevant
  • You are in Colorado or the Rocky Mountain region and want a private university credential with strong regional employer recognition, especially in healthcare, education, and the nonprofit sector
  • You are pursuing nursing and want CCNE-accredited programs with strong faculty ratios and Denver-area healthcare employer relationships
  • You are a transfer student with significant prior college credits who wants a completion program at a private institution that specifically invests in transfer scholarship support
  • You are a first-generation college student who wants an institution with established infrastructure for serving that population, including bilingual programming and culturally relevant support services

Research Alternatives Before Enrolling If:

  • Cost is the primary constraint: public Colorado universities online and WGU both offer lower per-credit rates for equivalent regional accreditation without Regis’s private nonprofit pricing
  • You are looking for maximum program breadth: SNHU’s 200+ program catalog is substantially larger than Regis’s 83-program portfolio
  • The Jesuit mission and values-integrated curriculum is neutral or unwanted in your coursework: secular alternatives without that framework exist at comparable or lower cost
  • You need a purely self-directed learning model: Regis’s structured weekly format and faculty interaction model is not designed for students who want maximum scheduling autonomy

The Bottom Line

Regis University is a legitimately distinguished private nonprofit institution with a 148-year history, strong career outcomes data (90% employed or in continued education; $72,057 median graduate salary), CCNE nursing accreditation, a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio, and a Jesuit educational tradition that is meaningfully different from both secular and for-profit alternatives.

The case for Regis is strongest for students who specifically value the combination of academic rigor, faculty interaction, ethical framework, and regional Denver-area employer relationships that the institution provides. For those students, particularly those who can access its transfer scholarship funding and who are in healthcare or business, Regis represents a private university investment with measurable payoff. For students whose primary criteria are lowest cost or broadest program selection, public and national nonprofit alternatives will likely serve those criteria better.

Related Reading

 

Sources: Regis University First Destination Survey 2025; Regis University institutional data and enrollment statistics; Higher Learning Commission accreditation database; CCNE (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education) accreditation directory; IPEDS Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System; U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard; Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics 2024; Federal Student Aid (studentaid.gov); Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities institutional data.