2023 Best Value Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota
Identifying High-Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
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 or bootcamp 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 Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota to help you in your search for the best school for you. This report analyzed 10 schools in South Dakota to see which ones offered the best value associate degree programs for 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.
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Top Value Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Lake Area Technical Institute the best value school in South Dakota for students working on their associate degree. Located in Watertown, South Dakota, the small public school awarded 579 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2020-2021.
LATI undergraduate students pay an average of $6,718 in tuition and fees each year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $16,724 in student loans.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at LATI. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 44% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
LATI also made our Best Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list, coming in at #2.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Southeast Technical College is a great place for students working on their associate degree who want the most bang for their educational buck. This small public school is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and it awarded 619 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Southeast Tech are $7,650 a year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $20,480 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Southeast Tech does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 45% took at least some of their classes online.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Southeast Tech is ranked #3 for overall quality in South Dakota.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Mitchell Technical College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list. Mitchell Tech is a small public school situated in Mitchell, South Dakota. It awarded 323 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
Mitchell Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $7,524 in tuition and fees each year. On average, associate degree students take out $15,633 in loans while pursuing their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Mitchell Tech does offer online classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 27% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Mitchell Tech also took the #5 spot in our Best Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota rankings.
Out of the 10 schools in South Dakota that were part of this year’s value ranking, South Dakota State University landed the # 4 spot on the list. Located in Brookings, South Dakota, the fairly large public school awarded 91 diplomas to qualifed associate degree students in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at South Dakota State are $12,809 a year. By the time they get their associate degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $17,354 in student loans.
Some students may be able to take online classes at South Dakota State. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 81% took at least some of their classes online.
South Dakota State not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Dakota State University. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list. Dakota State is located in Madison, South Dakota and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 40 associate degrees to qualified students.
Dakota State undergraduate students pay an average of $12,735 in tuition and fees each year. On average, associate degree students take out $27,139 in loans while pursuing their degree.
One thing to take note of is that Dakota State does offer online classes in some areas. In 2019-2020 about 73% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Dakota State is ranked #4 for overall quality in South Dakota.
Northern State University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree programs. NSU is a public institution located in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The school has a small population, and it awarded 18 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
NSU undergraduate students pay an average of $11,947 in tuition and fees each year.
NSU does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In 2019-2020 about 66% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Western Dakota Technical Institute ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota list. Western Dakota Tech is a small public school situated in Rapid City, South Dakota. It awarded 226 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
Western Dakota Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $8,332 in tuition and fees each year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $20,643 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Western Dakota Tech. In 2019-2020 about 43% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Black Hills State University landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree programs. BHSU is located in Spearfish, South Dakota and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 44 associate degrees to qualified students.
BHSU undergraduate students pay an average of $12,018 in tuition and fees each year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $18,078 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
BHSU does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. During the 2019-2020 year, about 63% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
National American University - Rapid City came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Associate Degree Schools in South Dakota ranking. National American University - Rapid City is a small private for-profit school located in Rapid City, South Dakota that handed out 106 associate degrees in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at National American University - Rapid City are $15,660 per year. Associate Degree recipients from this school accumulate an average of $33,608 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Interested in an online degree? Then you definitely want to check out National American University - Rapid City. Every undergraduate student at the school took at least one class online.
With a ranking of #10, University of Sioux Falls did quite well on this year’s best value schools for students working on their associate degree. University of Sioux Falls is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10 associate degrees to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at University of Sioux Falls are $19,900 a year.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at University of Sioux Falls. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 51% took at least some of their classes online.
Best Value Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 10 schools only.
References
- 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 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).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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