2022 Best Value IS Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value IS Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 18,368 people earned their degree in information science, making the major the 56th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, information science graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $58,848 and had an average of $32,600 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 615 information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $60,529 and $23,404 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 15 information science graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,069 and $19,434 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value IS Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in information science. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality information science programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the information science program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value IS Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value IS Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value IS Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region.

Top 3 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Information Science in the Plains States Region

#1

Century College

White Bear Lake, Minnesota

#1 in overall quality

$10,808 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value IS Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Century College landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, this medium-sized public school handed out 7 degrees to qualified associates’s IS students in 2019-2020.

Century College also made our “Best Information Science Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Century College is $10,808 for plains states region associate degree is students.

Full Century College Information Science Report

#2

Dakota State University

Madison, South Dakota

#2 in overall quality

$17,691 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Dakota State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value IS Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region list. Dakota State is a public institution located in Madison, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 6 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Dakota State also took the #2 spot in our “Best Information Science Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Dakota State University is $17,691 for Plains States Region Associate Degree IS students.

Full Dakota State University Information Science Report

#3

Alexandria Technical & Community College

Alexandria, Minnesota

#3 in overall quality

$13,550 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Alexandria Technical & Community College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value IS Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region. Alexandria Technical & Community College is a small public school situated in Alexandria, Minnesota. It awarded 1 associates’s IS degrees in 2019-2020.

ATCC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Information Science Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $13,550 for Plains States Region Associate Degree IS students per year to attend Alexandria Technical & Community College.

Read more about Information Science at ATCC

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Information Science

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to The Opte Project.

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