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Best Value Information Technology Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Information Technology Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

12 Colleges
$9,751 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Information Technology Basic Certificate School for You

With 40,555 degrees and certificates handed out in 2020-2021, information technology is the #3 most popular major in the United States.

There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which computer science program is right for you. 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 assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Computer Science Degree Search has created its Best Value Information Technology Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. This report analyzed 12 schools in the Plains States Region to see which ones offered the best value basic certificate programs for IT students. The goal was to highlight schools with more affordable prices than others offering similar quality experiences.

When determining this ranking, we place a high emphasis on the school's quality as well as its sticker price. Even though a college may be affordable, it may not offer value. 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.

Our calculations use out-of-state tuition and fees in our nationwide and regional rankings. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Information Technology Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region

Check out the IT basic certificate programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best Information Technology Basic Certificate Schools

#1

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS

Our analysis found Johnson County Community College to be the best value school for information technology students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the Plains States Region . JCCC is a large public school located in the medium-sized city of Overland Park.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at JCCC are $5,352 per year.

Read full report on Information Technology at Johnson County Community College

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeast Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Information Technology Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the town of Norfolk, Northeast is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

Northeast undergraduate students pay an average of $5,010 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Information Technology at Northeast Community College Report

#3

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Hennepin Technical College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Information Technology Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Hennepin Technical College are $5,741 a year.

Full Information Technology at Hennepin Technical College Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Minneapolis Community and Technical College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Information Technology Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Community and Technical College is a public school with a moderately-sized student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Minneapolis Community and Technical College are $5,906 per year.

Read More…

#5

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, IA

Out of the 12 schools in the Plains States Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Kirkwood Community College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Kirkwood Community College is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Kirkwood Community College are $7,072 per year.

Full Information Technology at Kirkwood Community College Report

Des Moines Area Community College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Information Technology Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. DMACC is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Ankeny.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at DMACC are $10,440 a year.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, DMACC is ranked #5 for overall quality for IT in the Plains States Region .

Read More…

#7

Grantham University

Lenexa, KS

With a ranking of #7, Grantham University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for information technology students working on their basic certificate. Located in the small city of Lenexa, Grantham University is a private for-profit college with a moderately-sized student population.

Grantham University undergraduate students pay an average of $8,280 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Information Technology at Grantham University

#8

Dakota State University

Madison, SD

Dakota State University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Information Technology Basic Certificate Schools in the Plains States Region ranking. Dakota State is a small public school located in the distant town of Madison.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Dakota State are $12,735 per year.

Read More…

Minnesota State University - Mankato did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for information technology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #9 on the list. Located in the city of Mankato, Minnesota State Mankato is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Minnesota State Mankato undergraduate students pay an average of $18,200 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Information Technology at Minnesota State University - Mankato Report

#10

Capella University

Minneapolis, MN

With a ranking of #10, Capella University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for information technology students working on their basic certificate. Capella University is a very large private for-profit school located in the large city of Minneapolis.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Capella University are $14,148 a year.

Read full report on Information Technology at Capella University

Best Information Technology Colleges by State

Explore the best information technology colleges for a specific state in the Plains States region.

State Degrees Awarded
Kansas 147
Minnesota 843
Missouri 266
Iowa 182
South Dakota 190
North Dakota 37
Nebraska 398

One of 10 majors within the computer science area of study, information technology has other similar majors worth exploring.

IT Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
Computer & IS Security 22,829
Network & System Administration/Administrator 5,501
Information Technology Management 4,009
Computer Support Specialist 3,176
System, Networking, & LAN/WAN Management/Manager 2,077
Information Technology Project Management 2,076
Web/Multimedia Management & Webmaster 887

Related Major Annual Graduates
Computer Information Systems 88,434
Computer Science 59,565
Information Science 18,325
Computer Systems Networking 14,700
Computer Software & Applications 14,336

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 12 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 Craig Dennis.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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