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

6 Ranked Colleges
144 Degrees Awarded
$16,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Child development Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Child development Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Early Childhood Education is the 34th most popular major in the country with 31,017 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across the Plains States region, there were 1,388 early childhood education graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 144 early childhood education graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,069 and $19,434 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Child development Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region” ranking looked at 6 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in early childhood education. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent early childhood education programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the early childhood education program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Early Childhood Education Schools

The child development school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Child development Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to 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 Child development Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region

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

Top 6 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Early Childhood Education in the Plains States Region

#1

Northeast Community College

Norfolk, Nebraska
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeast Community College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region list. This medium-sized school is located in Norfolk, Nebraska, and it awarded 16 associates’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

Northeast not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northeast is $8,749 for plains states region associate degree child development students.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Northeast Community College

#2

Rasmussen University - Minnesota

St. Cloud, Minnesota
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Child development Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Rasmussen University - Minnesota landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and it awarded 42 associates’s child development degrees in 2019-2020.

Rasmussen University - Minnesota also made our “Best Early Childhood Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Rasmussen University - Minnesota is $18,586 for Plains States Region Associate Degree Child development students.

With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Rasmussen University - Minnesota Early Childhood Education Report

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Child development Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Rasmussen University - North Dakota landed the #3 spot on the list. Rasmussen University - North Dakota is a private for-profit institution located in Fargo, North Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 14 associates’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Rasmussen University - North Dakota, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Early Childhood Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” ranking. It costs about $18,939 for plains states region associate degree child development students per year to attend Rasmussen University - North Dakota.

Full Rasmussen University - North Dakota Early Childhood Education Report

#4

College of Saint Mary

Omaha, Nebraska
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Child development Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, College of Saint Mary landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Omaha, Nebraska, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 1 diplomas to qualified associates’s child development students in 2019-2020.

Saint Mary did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $14,325 for Plains States Region Associate Degree Child development students per year to attend College of Saint Mary.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at College of Saint Mary

#5

Concordia University, Saint Paul

Saint Paul, Minnesota
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Child development Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Concordia University, Saint Paul landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 1 diplomas to qualified associates’s child development students in 2019-2020.

Concordia University, Saint Paul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Early Childhood Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list. It costs about $16,245 for Plains States Region Associate Degree Child development students per year to attend Concordia University, Saint Paul.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Concordia University, Saint Paul

#6 in overall quality

Rasmussen University - Kansas did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Child development Schools for an Associate in the Plains States Region ranking, coming in at #6. Rasmussen University - Kansas is located in Topeka, Kansas and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 associates’s child development degrees to qualified students.

Rasmussen University - Kansas also made our “Best Early Childhood Education Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $18,934 for Plains States Region Associate Degree Child development students per year to attend Rasmussen University - Kansas.

Read full report on Early Childhood Education at Rasmussen University - Kansas

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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 Vgrigas.

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