2023 Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Education 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. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Course Advisor has created its Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 81 schools in the Southwest Region to see which programs offered the best value experiences for education students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
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 Schools
Our 2023 rankings named Santa Fe Community College the best value school in the Southwest Region for education students. SFCC is a small public school located in the suburb of Santa Fe.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at SFCC are $4,995 per year. On average, education graduates from SFCC take out $20,018 in student loans while working on their degree.
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A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Pima Community College is a great value for education students. Located in the large city of Tucson, Pima County Community College District is a public college with a fairly large student population.
Pima County Community College District undergraduate students pay an average of $7,566 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that education majors at Pima County Community College District take out is $13,907.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Central New Mexico Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. CNM is a large public school located in the large city of Albuquerque.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CNM are $7,540 a year. On average, education graduates from CNM take out $9,562 in student loans while working on their degree.
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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means MSU Texas is a great value for education students. Located in the medium-sized city of Wichita Falls, MSU Texas is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MSU Texas are $11,726 per year.
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Out of the 81 schools in the Southwest Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Skysong landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the midsize city of Scottsdale, ASU - Skysong is a public college with a fairly large student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at ASU - Skysong are $13,092 a year. Education majors at ASU - Skysong take out an average of $23,380 in student loans while working on their egree. The average monthly payment of a loan this size is about $286, assuming that the borrower is on a 10-year repayment plan.
ASU - Skysong also claimed a spot on our Best Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
Full Education at Arizona State University - Skysong Report
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Eastern New Mexico University - Main Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the town of Portales, ENMU - Main Campus is a public college with a small student population.
ENMU - Main Campus undergraduate students pay an average of $8,568 in tuition and fees each year. On average, education graduates from ENMU - Main Campus take out $22,982 in student loans while working on their degree.
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Grand Canyon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #7 on the list. Grand Canyon University is a very large private for-profit school located in the city of Phoenix.
Grand Canyon University undergraduate students pay an average of $17,189 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that education majors at Grand Canyon University take out is $36,153. Assuming that a graduate chooses a 10-year repayment plan, the average monthly loan payment is $118.
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Ottawa University - Phoenix landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value education programs. Located in the city of Phoenix, Ottawa University - Phoenix is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly small student population.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ottawa University - Phoenix are $13,281 a year. After completing their degree, education graduates from Ottawa University - Phoenix carry an average student debtload of $25,583.
Ottawa University - Phoenix also claimed a spot on our Best Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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Southeastern Oklahoma State University landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value education programs. Southeastern Oklahoma State University is a moderately-sized public school located in the distant town of Durant.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeastern Oklahoma State University are $15,870 per year. Education majors at Southeastern Oklahoma State University take out an average of $25,087 in student loans while working on their egree.
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Lubbock Christian University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. Located in the city of Lubbock, LCU is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LCU are $24,900 per year. On average, education graduates from LCU take out $29,000 in student loans while working on their degree. When it comes time to repay the loan, graduates who are on a 10-year repayment plan pay an average monthly payment of $102.
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The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Edinburg, UT Rio Grande Valley is a public school with a fairly large student population.
UT Rio Grande Valley undergraduate students pay an average of $19,333 in tuition and fees each year.
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Angelo State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for education students. It came in at #12 on the list. Located in the small city of San Angelo, Angelo State is a public college with a large student population.
Angelo State undergraduate students pay an average of $17,978 in tuition and fees each year.
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Northwestern Oklahoma State University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region list. NWOSU is a small public school located in the remote town of Alva.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NWOSU are $15,001 per year. Education majors at NWOSU take out an average of $21,082 in student loans while working on their egree.
Full Education at Northwestern Oklahoma State University Report
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Here are some additional great value schools for Education students in the Southwest Region seeking value that almost earned our Best Value Education Schools in the Southwest Region award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Southwestern Assemblies of God University | Waxahachie, TX |
| 15 | Southern Nazarene University | Bethany, OK |
| 16 | Northeastern State University | Tahlequah, OK |
Best Education Colleges by State
Explore the best education schools for a specific state in the Southwest region.
| State | Degrees Awarded |
|---|---|
| Arizona | 16,265 |
| Texas | 17,614 |
| New Mexico | 1,831 |
| Oklahoma | 3,171 |
More Education Rankings in the Southwest 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 27 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.
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