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Best Value Special Education Associate Degree Schools

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2023 Best Value Special Education Associate Degree Schools

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

10 Colleges
$11,474 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$15,697 Avg Student Debt

Finding the Best Special Education Associate Degree School for You

In 2020-2021, 36,792 people earned a degree or certificate in special education, making the major the #29 most popular in the United States.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for students. 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 Special Education Associate Degree Schools ranking. This report analyzed 10 schools in the United States to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for special ed 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.

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

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

Top 10 Best Special Education Associate Degree Schools

Our 2023 rankings named Itawamba Community College the best value school in the United States for special education students working on their associate degree. ICC is a small public school located in the town of Fulton.

ICC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,360 in tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#2

Miami Dade College

Miami, FL

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Miami Dade College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Associate Degree Schools list. MDC is a very large public school located in the large city of Miami.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at MDC are $9,661 per year.

Read full report on Special Education at Miami Dade College

#3

Lehigh Carbon Community College

Schnecksville, PA

A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Lehigh Carbon Community College is a great value for special education students working on their associate degree. LCCC is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Schnecksville.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at LCCC are $12,060 per year.

Full Special Education at Lehigh Carbon Community College Report

#4

Stark State College

North Canton, OH

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Stark State College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Special Education Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the suburb of North Canton, Stark State College is a public school with a large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Stark State College are $7,406 per year.

Full Special Education at Stark State College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Cincinnati - Clermont College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Special Education Associate Degree Schools list. Located in the large suburb of Batavia, UC Clermont College is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UC Clermont College are $13,198 a year.

UC Clermont College excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our Best Special Education Associate Degree Schools list.

Read full report on Special Education at University of Cincinnati - Clermont College

#6

College of Southern Nevada

Las Vegas, NV

With a ranking of #6, College of Southern Nevada did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students working on their associate degree. CSN is a very large public school located in the city of Las Vegas.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CSN are $11,534 a year. On average, special ed graduates from CSN take out $14,821 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Special Education at College of Southern Nevada

Florida State College at Jacksonville landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree special education programs. Located in the city of Jacksonville, FSCJ is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at FSCJ are $9,631 per year.

FSCJ also claimed a spot on our Best Special Education Associate Degree Schools list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.

Read More…

With a ranking of #8, Rowan College of South Jersey Gloucester Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for special education students working on their associate degree. Located in the suburb of Sewell, RCSJ is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

RCSJ undergraduate students pay an average of $5,550 in tuition and fees each year.

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

#9

Gateway Community College

New Haven, CT

Gateway Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree special education programs. Gateway Community College is a moderately-sized public school located in the midsize city of New Haven.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Gateway Community College are $13,448 a year.

Full Special Education at Gateway Community College Report

Northern Vermont University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for special education students to get a associate degree. It came in at #10 on the list. Northern Vermont University is a small public school located in the rural area of Johnson.

Northern Vermont University undergraduate students pay an average of $26,892 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Special Education at Northern Vermont University

Special Education by Region

View the Best Value Special 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

Special Education is one of 14 different types of programs to choose from.

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
General Education 29,810
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 10 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 woodleywonderworks.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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