Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Best Value General Education Associate Degree Schools

Find Schools Near

2023 Best Value General Education Associate Degree Schools

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

24 Colleges
$13,653 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$21,881 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Education Associate Degree School for You

General Education is the #39 most popular major in the country with 29,810 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.

Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Value General Education Associate Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 24 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for education students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value General Education Associate Degree Schools in the United States

The colleges and universities below are the best value schools for education majors pursuing a associate degree.

Top 10 Best General Education Associate Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Santa Fe Community College the best value school in the United States for general education students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Santa Fe, SFCC is a public school with a small student population.

SFCC undergraduate students pay an average of $4,995 in tuition and fees each year.

Full General Education at Santa Fe Community College Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Northeast Community College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value General Education Associate Degree Schools list. Northeast is a moderately-sized public school located in the remote town of Norfolk.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Northeast are $5,010 a year.

Read More…

Out of the 24 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Rowan College of South Jersey Gloucester Campus landed the # 3 spot on the list. RCSJ is a moderately-sized public school located in the large suburb of Sewell.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at RCSJ are $5,550 per year. On average, education graduates from RCSJ take out $10,093 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full General Education at Rowan College of South Jersey Gloucester Campus Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value General Education Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the rural area of Perkinston, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College are $7,250 a year.

Read full report on General Education at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

#5

Stark State College

North Canton, OH

Out of the 24 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Stark State College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Stark State College is a large public school located in the large suburb of North Canton.

Stark State College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,406 in tuition and fees each year. On average, education graduates from Stark State College take out $19,498 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Full General Education at Stark State College Report

#6

Southern Maine Community College

South Portland, ME

With a ranking of #6, Southern Maine Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students working on their associate degree. Located in the small city of South Portland, SMCC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SMCC are $6,754 per year. Education majors at SMCC take out an average of $14,630 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read More…

#7

Ivy Tech Community College

Indianapolis, IN

Ivy Tech Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Associate Degree Schools ranking. Ivy Tech Community College is a very large public school located in the city of Indianapolis.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ivy Tech Community College are $8,927 a year. While working on their Associate Degree, education majors at Ivy Tech Community College accumulate an average of around $12,225 in student debt.

In addition to its great value ranking, Ivy Tech Community College is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best General Education Associate Degree Schools list.

Read full report on General Education at Ivy Tech Community College

Pima Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value General Education Associate Degree Schools list. Pima County Community College District is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Tucson.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Pima County Community College District are $7,566 per year.

Read full report on General Education at Pima Community College

#9

Lehigh Carbon Community College

Schnecksville, PA

Lehigh Carbon Community College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value General Education Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Schnecksville, LCCC is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

LCCC undergraduate students pay an average of $12,060 in tuition and fees each year. On average, education graduates from LCCC take out $12,214 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on General Education at Lehigh Carbon Community College

El Paso Community College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Associate Degree Schools ranking. Located in the large city of El Paso, El Paso Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at El Paso Community College are $5,314 per year.

Read full report on General Education at El Paso Community College

General Education by Region

View the Best Value General Education Associate Degree Schools for a specific region near you.

Region
Southeast
New England
Rocky Mountains
Plains States
Middle Atlantic
Far Western US
Southwest
Great Lakes

One of 14 majors within the area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
Special Education 36,792
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 24 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

Featured Schools

Find Schools Near You

Our free school finder matches students with accredited colleges across the U.S.