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2023 Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region

10 Ranked Colleges
380 Degrees Awarded
$17,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management is the 231st most popular major in the country with 2,937 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 380 parks, recreation and leisure facilities management graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in parks, recreation and leisure facilities management. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent parks, recreation and leisure facilities management 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 parks, recreation and leisure facilities management program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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 Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management in the Great Lakes Region

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region. WIU is a medium-sized school located in Macomb, Illinois that handed out 54 ’s parks administration degrees in 2020-2021.

WIU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $15,305 for Great Lakes Region Parks Administration students per year to attend WIU.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management at Western Illinois University

2

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Wisconsin - La Crosse landed the #2 spot on the list. UW - La Crosse is a public institution located in La Crosse, Wisconsin. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 38 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our great lakes region parks administration students list, UW - La Crosse has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $14,654 for great lakes region parks administration students per year to attend UW - La Crosse.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management at University of Wisconsin - La Crosse

3
Central Michigan crest
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Central Michigan University landed the #3 spot on the list. Central Michigan is located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 ’s parks administration degrees to qualified students.

Central Michigan also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #4. The yearly cost to attend Central Michigan is $16,007 for great lakes region parks administration students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management at Central Michigan

4

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region. Illinois State University is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 87 ’s parks administration degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our great lakes region parks administration students list, Illinois State has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois State University is $20,830 for Great Lakes Region Parks Administration students.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management at Illinois State

5
EIU crest
Eastern Illinois University
Charleston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Eastern Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. EIU is a public institution located in Charleston, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 12 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

EIU also made our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $13,098 for Great Lakes Region Parks Administration students per year to attend Eastern Illinois University.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management at Eastern Illinois University

6
WMU crest
Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Western Michigan University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #6. Western Michigan University is a fairly large public school situated in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It awarded 5 ’s parks administration degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at WMU, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Western Michigan University is $20,371 for great lakes region parks administration students.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management at WMU

7
Indiana State crest
Indiana State University
Terre Haute, Indiana

Indiana State University did quite well in the 2023 Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking, coming in at #7. Indiana State is a public institution located in Terre Haute, Indiana. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 73 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Indiana State, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $14,270 for great lakes region parks administration students per year to attend Indiana State.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management at Indiana State University

8

With a ranking of #8, Kent State University at Kent did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Kent, Ohio is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s parks administration degrees to 12 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Kent State, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Kent State is $19,117 for Great Lakes Region Parks Administration students.

Read full report on Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management at Kent State

9
University of Saint Francis crest
University of St Francis
Joliet, Illinois

University of St Francis landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. University of Saint Francis is a small school located in Joliet, Illinois that handed out 19 ’s parks administration degrees in 2020-2021.

University of Saint Francis not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Saint Francis is $17,102 for Great Lakes Region Parks Administration students.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management at University of Saint Francis

10
Michigan State crest
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan

With a ranking of #10, Michigan State University did quite well on the 2023 Best Value Parks Administration Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in East Lansing, Michigan, this large public school awarded 23 degrees to qualified ’s parks administration students in 2020-2021.

Michigan State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Michigan State is $19,058 for great lakes region parks administration students.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Parks, Recreation & Leisure Facilities Management at Michigan State

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