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.
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2023 Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Check out the education programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.
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 fairly 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. While working on their degree, education majors at Stark State College accumulate an average of around $16,160 in student debt.
Read full report on General Education at Stark State College
The excellent programs at Calvin University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best general education schools in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the 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.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Calvin also is in the top 15% of our Best General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Spring Arbor University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Spring Arbor is a small private not-for-profit school located in the small suburb of Spring Arbor.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Spring Arbor are $31,080 per year.
Read full report on General Education at Spring Arbor University
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Ivy Tech Community College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Ivy Tech Community College is a fairly large public school located in the large city of Indianapolis.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Ivy Tech Community College are $8,927 per 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.
A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Valparaiso University is a great value for general education students. 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.
With a ranking of #6, Muskingum University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for general education students. Located in the distant town of New Concord, Muskingum 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 Muskingum are $30,090 a year.
Read full report on General Education at Muskingum University
Baldwin Wallace University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general education students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the suburb of Berea, Baldwin Wallace College is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Baldwin Wallace College are $35,366 per year.
Bluffton University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general education students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the distant town of Bluffton, Bluffton is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
Bluffton undergraduate students pay an average of $34,502 in tuition and fees each year.
Read full report on General Education at Bluffton University
Western Illinois University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value general education programs. WIU is a medium-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.
Read full report on General Education at Western Illinois University
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 college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NIU are $14,738 a year.
Read full report on General Education at Northern Illinois University
Honorable Mentions
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 colleges 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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