South Dakota Community Colleges Rank High in New Study

When it comes to higher education, you don’t always have to start at a big-name university to get a quality education. Across the country, community colleges are offering affordable tuition, flexible schedules, and programs that lead to in-demand careers or smooth transfers to four-year schools.

These schools are often deeply rooted in their communities, providing not only academic opportunities but also workforce training, cultural events, and personal enrichment.

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Because of that, Wallet Hub comes out every year with its list of the Best & Worst Community Colleges across the U.S.

This year, they compared 650 community colleges across numerous categories to come up with their list.

South Dakota had several schools show up on the list, including Mitchell Technical College, which was a highly-rated number 13 out of all of the community colleges in the country!

Other South Dakota community colleges that made the list include:

• Lake Area Technical College in 70th place
• Southeast Technical College in 163rd place
• Western Dakota Technical College in 284th place

Some of the areas they examined for this study included cost and financing, education outcomes, and career outcomes.

Within those categories, they included things like:

• Cost of in-state tuition and fees
• Availability of employment services for students
• Faculty salaries
• First-year retention rates
• Graduation rates
• Student-to-faculty ratio
• Median salary after attending
• ...more

Great community colleges can offer students a strong start on their academic and professional journeys without breaking the bank.

Source: Wallet Hub

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You can see this complete study at Wallet Hub.