Lake Region State College Online Fitness Trainer Technician (Associate in Applied Science)

Lake Region's Fitness Trainer Technician is a two-year personal training degree that is fully online and CAAHEP accredited. CAAHEP is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. You'll pay $260.31 per credit with fees, about $15,619 for all 60 credits, in asynchronous classes with no set meeting times. It fits people who want to train clients, not those chasing the ACSM-EP or CSCS, which need a bachelor's.

Lake Region State College is a public two-year college in Devils Lake, North Dakota, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1973. Its Associate in Applied Science in Fitness Trainer Technician is 60 credits, offered online and on campus. The school's advising sheet spreads those credits over four semesters of 15, 13, 16 and 16, and the plan is built around personal training, nutrition coaching and fitness assessment.

The program page says graduates can go to work or keep going toward a bachelor's degree in athletic training, exercise science or a related field. First-time LRSC students also pay a $35 admission fee.

The full rubric is on the methodology page. A factor marked Peer Median had no published input, so it counts at half weight.

LRSC has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1973, and the program itself is accredited by CAAHEP. CAAHEP's own program list, which we pulled September 29, 2026, shows it under Personal Fitness Training with continuing accreditation and a distance flag. It's the only program on that list carrying the flag, though schools can under-report it.

The degree doesn't hand you a certification. HPER 218 prepares you for the ACSM personal trainer certification, ACSM-CPT, but you'd still register for that exam yourself, and the program page doesn't name a certification. The rules for ACSM-EP, ACSM-CEP and NSCA-CSCS concern bachelor's and master's degrees. This associate degree is a stepping stone toward them, not a substitute.

Where this degree can lead: Exercise Science Jobs, ACSM Exercise Physiologist Certification.

Who It Fits

• Future personal trainers who want a degree behind the certificate. HPER 218 is a three-credit review the catalog describes as preparation for the ACSM personal trainer certification, and FTT 220 and FTT 240 teach exercise prescription and fitness testing. Trainer certifications don't require a degree, so what you're adding is science, nutrition and a credential that shows on paper.
• Cost-conscious students anywhere in the country. Tuition is $238.65 per credit regardless of residency, with no maximum per semester, and fees add $21.66 per credit. Compare it with our cheapest online exercise science degrees.
• Service members and military spouses. LRSC lists a tuition assistance rate of $238.65 per credit for all branches, online or in person. Basic fees, certain course and lab fees and distance delivery fees are waived for MiLTA and MyCAA.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who wants to be an exercise physiologist. ACSM-EP and ACSM-CEP, the American College of Sports Medicine's exercise physiologist certifications, require a bachelor's or master's. From August 15, 2027, candidates must also graduate from a CAAHEP-accredited exercise science or exercise physiology program, or one in the process. Start with our online exercise physiology degrees.
• Students aiming for the CSCS. The NSCA's Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist exam requires a bachelor's, and from January 1, 2030 U.S. candidates need one from a CASCE-accredited program. An associate degree can be your first two years, but it isn't the credential. Read our CSCS guide.
• California residents. LRSC says it isn't authorized to deliver online courses and degrees in California, and it points those students toward enrolling on campus in North Dakota.

Your 60 credits split into a fitness core, nutrition, anatomy and general education. The core is FTT 220 Exercise Prescription, FTT 240 Techniques of Fitness Assessment, HPER 100 Concepts of Fitness and Wellness, HPER 170 Introduction to Exercise Science, HPER 207 Prevention and Care of Injuries, HPER 218 Personal Training Preparation and HPER 225 Fitness Leadership. Anatomy & Physiology I and II carry four credits each.

General education adds composition, public speaking, college algebra, psychology, sociology and a computer elective.

Nutrition is heavy for an associate degree: NUTR 240, 260, 270 and 271, eleven credits in all. The catalog says NUTR 270 teaches you to recognize nutrition misinformation and dispute miracle diet claims, and NUTR 271 covers energy production and sport nutrition. HPER 210 First Aid includes CPR certification.

The catalog calls FTT 297 a capstone: a 64-hour internship in a pre-approved health, fitness or wellness setting during your last semester.

Courses the School Names

• FTT 220 Exercise Prescription
• FTT 240 Techniques of Fitness Assessment
• FTT 297 Fitness Trainer Internship
• HPER 170 Introduction to Exercise Science
• HPER 207 Prevention and Care of Injuries
• HPER 218 Personal Training Preparation
• HPER 225 Fitness Leadership
• NUTR 270 Nutrition for the Fitness Specialist I
• BIOL 220 Anatomy & Physiology I

Standout Features

• CAAHEP-accredited fitness trainer program offered online and on campus
• Two-year A.A.S. with anatomy and physiology I and II, exercise prescription, fitness assessment and four nutrition courses

The 2026-27 online rate is $238.65 tuition plus $6.00 distance delivery, $10.12 technology, $0.04 NDSA and $5.50 ConnectND fees per credit, which totals $260.31 per credit. Sixty credits at that rate come to about $15,619. Tuition alone is $14,319, the figure you'll see in most comparison tables, so budget with the higher number.

Extras are small. HPER 210 carries a $22 CPR card fee, and first-time students pay the $35 admission fee. Military tuition assistance keeps tuition at $238.65 and waives basic and distance delivery fees for MiLTA and MyCAA.

60 credits at $238.65 a credit comes to $14,319 in tuition, before fees.

LRSC says its online classes are asynchronous, with no set meeting times, but attendance is required. You can pick semester-length or 8-week courses. Exams are proctored. You'll use an approved proctor at a school, library or testing center, or the Lockdown Browser on a wired connection, and course work runs through Blackboard.

The catalog says your internship site must be pre-approved, so ask the program contact early what approval takes and which gyms, clinics or wellness centers near you already qualify.

• It's a two-year technician degree. Exercise physiologist, strength coach and clinical jobs usually call for a bachelor's or more, and the ACSM and NSCA rule changes in 2027 and 2030 point toward four-year, accredited programs.
• An A.A.S. is designed for going to work, so fitness-specific courses like FTT 220 and HPER 218 may not transfer into a bachelor's program. Get each target school's transfer decision in writing before you enroll.
• The internship is one credit and 64 hours. That's short next to a bachelor's practicum, and far below the 1,200 clinical hours ACSM asks of bachelor's-level clinical exercise physiologist candidates.
• Federal data puts LRSC's graduation rate at 52 percent. That's the whole college, not this program.

• How do online students find and get approval for an FTT 297 internship site, and can my current job in a gym or clinic count?
• How do I complete the CPR practice in HPER 210 if I'm not near campus?
• Which universities have transfer agreements for this A.A.S., and which credits do they accept toward a bachelor's?
• Does HPER 218 include an ACSM exam fee or voucher, or do I pay ACSM separately?
• Which start terms are open for online students, and how many courses can I take in 8-week formats?
• What retention and job placement results has the program most recently reported to CAAHEP?
• If I use military tuition assistance, which fees still apply on top of the $238.65 tuition rate?

Lake Region State College is a public two-year college in Devils Lake, North Dakota, with online delivery and a Grand Forks Air Force Base campus. Its Fitness Trainer Technician A.A.S. is CAAHEP accredited and pairs exercise and nutrition coursework with a fitness internship.

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