Independent website Value Colleges listed Dakota County Technical College as one of its top 50 Best Value Community Colleges of 2016. DCTC came in 44th on the list which surveyed 1,717 community colleges in the US that offer 2-year associate degrees. Only two other technical colleges were recognized on the list.
In total, six Minnesota State colleges have been recognized on the list including:
#5 Normandale Community College
#9 Anoka-Ramsey Community College
#12 Lake Superior College
#13 St. Cloud Technical and Community College
#25 Inver Hills Community College
#44 Dakota County Technical College
Using data from College Measures, a Gates Foundation-supported database, Value Colleges surveyed the 1,717 community colleges in the United States that offer 2-year associate degrees and filtered them to find schools that met criteria that Value Colleges deemed to be most relevant in identifying the nation’s best value community colleges. Criteria included graduation rates, cost, enrollment, and membership in the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC).
“I am very pleased that our colleges have been recognized as the outstanding educational investments they are,” said Steven Rosenstone, chancellor of Minnesota State. “All of our colleges and universities are committed to providing students with access to an education that is both extraordinary and affordable. That Value Colleges recognized so many of our colleges is a testament to the outstanding work that faculty and staff do every single day.”
Tuition at Minnesota State colleges decreased by one percent this academic year after having been frozen for three consecutive years, making this year’s average annual tuition at a Minnesota State college $5,364, approximately one-third the cost of private trade schools. After financial aid, the average student tuition cost for recipients of the Minnesota State Grant is $898.
