2023 Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
Finding the Best General Education School for You
General Education is the #39 most popular major in the country with 29,810 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
It's not easy to decide which program to enroll in when you have so many options available. 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.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Course Advisor has created the Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 69 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value programs for education students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. 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.
In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Top 10 Best General Education Schools
Our analysis found Stark State College to be the best value school for general education students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Stark State College is a large public school located in the large suburb of North Canton.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Stark State College are $7,406 per year. While working on their degree, education majors at Stark State College accumulate an average of around $16,160 in student debt.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Calvin University is a great value for general education students. Located in the medium-sized city of Grand Rapids, Calvin is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Calvin are $38,240 a year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Calvin is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Spring Arbor University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Spring Arbor is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Spring Arbor.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Spring Arbor are $31,080 a year.
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The excellent programs at Ivy Tech Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in the Great Lakes Region . Ivy Tech Community College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Indianapolis.
Ivy Tech Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,927 in tuition and fees each year. While working on their degree, education majors at Ivy Tech Community College accumulate an average of around $9,646 in student debt.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, Ivy Tech Community College also did well on our Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Valparaiso University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large suburb of Valparaiso, Valpo is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Valpo undergraduate students pay an average of $44,796 in tuition and fees each year.
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Muskingum University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the distant town of New Concord, Muskingum is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Muskingum are $30,090 a year.
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Baldwin Wallace University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the large suburb of Berea, Baldwin Wallace College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Baldwin Wallace College are $35,366 per year.
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Bluffton University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general education programs. Located in the town of Bluffton, Bluffton is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Bluffton undergraduate students pay an average of $34,502 in tuition and fees each year.
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Western Illinois University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. WIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the remote town of Macomb.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WIU are $13,297 a year.
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Northern Illinois University landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general education programs. Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public school with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NIU are $14,738 a year.
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Here are some additional great value schools for General Education students in the Great Lakes Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | McKendree University | Lebanon, IL |
| 12 | Baker College | Owosso, MI |
| 13 | University of Wisconsin - Green Bay | Green Bay, WI |
Best General Education Colleges by State
Explore the best general education schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Michigan | 700 |
| Ohio | 706 |
| Illinois | 453 |
| Indiana | 502 |
| Wisconsin | 515 |
More General Education Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Majors Related to Education
One of 14 majors within the area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.
Majors Similar to Education
| 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 25 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.
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