2023 Best Value Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Prices
There are so many programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. 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 and bootcamps 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 Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa ranking. Our analysis looked at 14 schools in Iowa to see which undergraduate certificate programs offered the best value experiences for 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. 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.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
Featured schools near , edit
Top Value Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Northwest Iowa Community College to be the best value school for students who want to pursue a undergraduate certificate in Iowa. Northwest Iowa Community College is a small public school situated in Sheldon, Iowa. It awarded 180 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Northwest Iowa Community College are $6,840 per year. By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $14,120 in student loans.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Northwest Iowa Community College. During the 2019-2020 year, about 68% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Northwest Iowa Community College also took the #1 spot in our Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa rankings.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Western Iowa Tech Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list. Sioux City, Iowa is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out undergraduate certificates to 432 students in 2020-2021.
Western Iowa Tech Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $4,826 in tuition and fees each year. By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $12,541 in student loans.
Online courses are available at Western Iowa Tech Community College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 53% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
The excellent undergraduate certificate programs at Des Moines Area Community College helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best value schools in Iowa. DMACC is a public institution located in Ankeny, Iowa. The school has a large population, and it awarded 369 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at DMACC are $10,440 per year. By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $16,511 in student loans.
Some students may be able to take online classes at DMACC. In 2019-2020 about 63% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
DMACC also made our Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #5.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Marshalltown Community College. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list. Marshalltown Community College is a small public school situated in Marshalltown, Iowa. It awarded 94 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Marshalltown Community College are $5,448 per year. By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $22,664 in student loans.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Marshalltown Community College. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 76% took at least some of their classes online.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Eastern Iowa Community College District. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list. Eastern Iowa Community Colleges is a medium-sized public school situated in Davenport, Iowa. It awarded 187 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges are $5,904 a year. Undergraduate Certificate recipients from this school accumulate an average of $16,753 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Eastern Iowa Community Colleges does offer online classes for certain majors. In fact, around 61% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Indian Hills Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa ranking. Ottumwa, Iowa is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out undergraduate certificates to 138 students in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at IHCC are $6,000 a year. By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $19,190 in student loans.
One thing to take note of is that IHCC does offer online classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 36% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Hawkeye Community College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list. Hawkeye Community College is a public institution located in Waterloo, Iowa. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 213 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Hawkeye Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,524 in tuition and fees each year. On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $15,286 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Hawkeye Community College. During the 2019-2020 year, about 41% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Hawkeye Community College did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list.
Southeastern Community College came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa ranking. Southeastern Community College is located in West Burlington, Iowa and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 153 undergraduate certificates to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Southeastern Community College are $6,240 per year. On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $15,255 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Online courses are available at Southeastern Community College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 49% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Southeastern Community College also took the #3 spot in our Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa rankings.
Northeast Iowa Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for students to get an undergraduate certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. NICC is a small public school situated in Calmar, Iowa. It awarded 197 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at NICC are $6,840 per year. By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $15,283 in student loans.
NICC does offer online classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 55% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
NICC also made our Best Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list, coming in at #4.
With a ranking of #10, Kirkwood Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for students working on their undergraduate certificate. Kirkwood Community College is a fairly large public school located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that handed out 315 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kirkwood Community College are $7,072 per year. On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $19,474 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Kirkwood Community College. During the 2019-2020 year, about 86% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Iowa Central Community College ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Undergraduate Certificate Schools in Iowa list. Located in Fort Dodge, Iowa, the medium-sized public school handed out 151 undergraduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Iowa Central Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,650 in tuition and fees each year. On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $11,673 in loans while pursuing their degree.
Online courses are available at Iowa Central Community College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 33% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #12, North Iowa Area Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for students working on their undergraduate certificate. North Iowa Area Community College is located in Mason City, Iowa and has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 95 undergraduate certificates to qualified students.
North Iowa Area Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,547 in tuition and fees each year.
North Iowa Area Community College is one of the schools on our list that is primarily online. Each undergraduate student at the school took at least one class online.
Iowa Western Community College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value undergraduate certificate programs. Iowa Western Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It awarded 269 undergraduate certificates in 2020-2021.
Iowa Western Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $6,480 in tuition and fees each year. By the time they get their undergraduate certificate, students from this school have racked up an average of $12,734 in student loans.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Iowa Western Community College. In 2019-2020 about 75% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
With a ranking of #14, Iowa Lakes Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for students working on their undergraduate certificate. Located in Estherville, Iowa, the small public school handed out 29 undergraduate certificate awards in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Iowa Lakes Community College are $7,196 a year. On average, undergraduate certificate students take out $17,327 in loans while pursuing their degree.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Iowa Lakes Community College does offer online classes for certain majors. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 45% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Best Value Undergraduate Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region
View Best Value Undergraduate Certificate Schools Nationwide >
More Iowa Rankings
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 14 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.
Featured Schools
Request Info
|
Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs. Learn More > |
Course Advisor provides higher-education, college and university, degree, program, career, salary, and other helpful information to students, faculty, institutions, and other internet audiences. Presented information and data are subject to change. Inclusion on this website does not imply or represent a direct relationship with the company, school, or brand. Information, though believed correct at time of publication, may not be correct, and no warranty is provided. Contact the schools to verify any information before relying on it. Financial aid may be available for those who qualify. The displayed options may include sponsored or recommended results, not necessarily based on your preferences.
© Course Advisor – All Rights Reserved.