2023 Best Value Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Education Bachelor's Degree School for You
With 327,871 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, education is the #4 most popular major in the United States.
When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. This report analyzed 144 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which ones offered the best value bachelor's degree programs for education students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 15% Best Education Bachelor's Degree Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Southern Illinois University Carbondale the best value school in the Great Lakes Region for education students working on their bachelor’s degree. SIUC is a large public school located in the city of Carbondale.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at SIUC are $15,240 a year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Central Michigan University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Central Michigan is a fairly large public school located in the town of Mount Pleasant.
Central Michigan undergraduate students pay an average of $13,094 in tuition and fees each year.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Wisconsin - Stout helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value education schools in the Great Lakes Region . UW - Stout is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Menomonie.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - Stout are $17,820 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UW - Stout is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Education Bachelor’s Degree 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 University of Wisconsin - River Falls. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the distant town of River Falls, UW - River Falls is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
UW - River Falls undergraduate students pay an average of $15,661 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UW - River Falls is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
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Out of the 144 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the # 5 spot on the list. SIUE is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Edwardsville.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SIUE are $11,496 per year.
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University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list. UW Oshkosh is a large public school located in the small city of Oshkosh.
UW Oshkosh undergraduate students pay an average of $15,306 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the small city of Eau Claire, UW - Eau Claire is a public college with a fairly large student population.
UW - Eau Claire undergraduate students pay an average of $17,149 in tuition and fees each year.
In addition to its great value ranking, UW - Eau Claire is in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.
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With a ranking of #8, Northern Illinois University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students working on their bachelor’s degree. NIU is a large public school located in the small suburb of Dekalb.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NIU are $14,738 per year.
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Youngstown State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree education programs. Located in the small city of Youngstown, Youngstown State University is a public school with a large student population.
Youngstown State University undergraduate students pay an average of $9,732 in tuition and fees each year.
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Ferris State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Ferris is a fairly large public school located in the town of Big Rapids.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ferris are $13,188 a year.
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University of Wisconsin - La Crosse ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. UW - La Crosse is a large public school located in the city of La Crosse.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UW - La Crosse are $18,014 per year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - La Crosse also did well on our Best Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Eastern Illinois University came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Located in the distant town of Charleston, EIU is a public college with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at EIU are $14,551 a year.
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University of Wisconsin - Platteville landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree education programs. Located in the town of Platteville, UW - Platteville is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - Platteville are $16,483 a year.
UW - Platteville also claimed a spot on our Best Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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Western Illinois University landed the #14 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value bachelor’s degree education programs. Located in the town of Macomb, WIU is a public school with a medium-sized student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WIU are $13,297 a year.
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University of Wisconsin - Whitewater did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list. UW - Whitewater is a fairly large public school located in the town of Whitewater.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UW - Whitewater are $16,602 a year.
On top of its placing in our value ranking, UW - Whitewater also did well on our Best Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #16, University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students working on their bachelor’s degree. UW - Stevens Point is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Stevens Point.
UW - Stevens Point undergraduate students pay an average of $17,035 in tuition and fees each year.
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National Louis University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. NLU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of Chicago.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NLU are $14,169 per year.
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With a ranking of #18, University of Akron Main Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in the city of Akron, University of Akron Main Campus is a public college with a large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at University of Akron Main Campus are $11,880 a year.
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With a ranking of #19, Baker College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for education students working on their bachelor’s degree. Baker College is a small private not-for-profit school located in the distant town of Owosso.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Baker College are $12,420 per year.
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Western Michigan University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Value Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. WMU is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Kalamazoo.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at WMU are $16,768 a year.
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Eastern Michigan University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for education students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list. Eastern Michigan is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Ypsilanti.
Eastern Michigan undergraduate students pay an average of $15,500 in tuition and fees each year.
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Here are some additional great value schools for Education students in the Great Lakes Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Education Bachelor's Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | Illinois State University | Normal, IL |
| 23 | Grand Valley State University | Allendale, MI |
| 23 | Purdue University Fort Wayne | Fort Wayne, IN |
| 25 | Chicago State University | Chicago, IL |
| 26 | Purdue University - Main Campus | West Lafayette, IN |
| 27 | Northeastern Illinois University | Chicago, IL |
| 28 | Indiana University - Southeast | New Albany, IN |
Best Education Colleges by State
Explore the best education schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Indiana | 11,570 |
| Michigan | 5,939 |
| Ohio | 9,238 |
| Illinois | 10,567 |
| Wisconsin | 5,792 |
More Education Rankings in the Great Lakes Region
Education Related Majors for Education
Education Majors to Study
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 110,226 |
| Educational Administration | 46,469 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 43,297 |
| Special Education | 36,792 |
| General Education | 29,810 |
| Curriculum & Instruction | 19,832 |
| Student Counseling | 13,858 |
| Instructional Media Design | 8,695 |
| Teaching English or French | 5,791 |
| Other Education | 4,858 |
| Teaching Assistants | 2,751 |
| Educational Assessment | 2,552 |
| Multilingual Education | 1,910 |
| Education Philosophy | 737 |
| International Education | 293 |
Most Popular Related Majors
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Social Sciences | 205,984 |
| Psychology | 195,678 |
| Communication & Journalism | 120,571 |
| Family, Consumer & Human Sciences | 55,820 |
| History | 32,731 |
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 Horadrim.
More about our data sources and methodologies.