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2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for General Education in the Plains States Region

7 Ranked Colleges
161 Degrees Awarded
$12,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Education Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Education Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

General Education is the 35th most popular major in the country with 29,936 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $47,138 and had an average of $29,674 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Plains States region, there were 3,296 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $41,903 and $30,143 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 161 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,069 and $19,434 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Education Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region” ranking looked at 7 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general education. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general education programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the general education program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Education Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

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

The colleges and universities below are the best for plains states region associate degree education students.

Top 7 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for General Education in the Plains States Region

#1

Highland Community College

Highland, Kansas

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Highland Community College. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Education Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region. Highland Community College is located in Highland, Kansas and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 48 associates’s education degrees to qualified students.

Highland Community College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Highland Community College is $7,349 for plains states region associate degree education students.

Read more about General Education at Highland Community College

#2

Century College

White Bear Lake, Minnesota

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Century College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Education Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region. Century College is a public institution located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 19 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Century College also made our “Best General Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Century College is $10,808 for Plains States Region Associate Degree Education students.

Read full report on General Education at Century College

#3

Butler Community College

El Dorado, Kansas

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Butler Community College landed the #3 spot on the list. Butler Community College is a public institution located in El Dorado, Kansas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 42 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Butler CC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best General Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Butler CC is $13,895 for plains states region associate degree education students.

Read full report on General Education at Butler CC

#4

Northeast Community College

Norfolk, Nebraska
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northeast Community College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Education Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region. Northeast is a public institution located in Norfolk, Nebraska. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 4 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northeast also made our “Best General Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Northeast is $8,749 for Plains States Region Associate Degree Education students.

Full Northeast Community College General Education Report

#5

Normandale Community College

Bloomington, Minnesota
#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Normandale Community College. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Education Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region. Normandale Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Bloomington, Minnesota. It awarded 1 associates’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Normandale Community College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best General Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $12,620 for Plains States Region Associate Degree Education students per year to attend Normandale Community College.

Read full report on General Education at Normandale Community College

#6

Southwest Baptist University

Bolivar, Missouri
#5 in overall quality

Southwest Baptist University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #6. Bolivar, Missouri is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out associates’s education degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our plains states region associate degree education students list, Southwest Baptist University has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best General Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $17,682 for plains states region associate degree education students per year to attend Southwest Baptist University.

Read more about General Education at Southwest Baptist University

#7 in overall quality

Drury University - College of Continuing Professional Studies came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region ranking. Drury University - CCPS is a private not-for-profit institution located in Springfield, Missouri. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Drury University - CCPS also took the #7 spot in our “Best General Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Drury University - College of Continuing Professional Studies is $13,233 for plains states region associate degree education students.

Read more about General Education at Drury University - College of Continuing Professional Studies

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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 KOKUYO.

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