2023 Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region
Identifying High-Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which computer science program is right 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, Computer Science Degree Search has created its Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. This report analyzed 16 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region to see which ones offered the best value basic certificate programs for computer science 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.
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Top Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region of the U.S.
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Colorado State University - Global Campus the best value school in the Rocky Mountains Region for computer science students working on their basic certificate. Greenwood Village, Colorado is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out basic certificates to 114 students in 2020-2021.
Colorado State University - Global Campus undergraduate students pay an average of $8,400 in tuition and fees each year.
Since Colorado State University - Global Campus is primarily an online school, it is an excellent choice for undergraduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
Colorado State University - Global Campus not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #3 on our Best Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
Read full report on Colorado State University - Global Campus
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Salt Lake Community College. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Salt Lake Community College is a large public school located in Salt Lake City, Utah that handed out 494 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Salt Lake Community College are $12,734 per year.
Salt Lake Community College 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 48% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Salt Lake Community College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #1 on our Best Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend College of Western Idaho. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Nampa, Idaho is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out basic certificates to 19 students in 2020-2021.
CWI undergraduate students pay an average of $7,344 in tuition and fees each year.
CWI 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 51% took at least some of their classes online.
Out of the 16 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s value ranking, Red Rocks Community College landed the # 4 spot on the list. Red Rocks Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Lakewood, Colorado. It awarded 27 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
Red Rocks Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $15,811 in tuition and fees each year.
Red Rocks Community College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 75% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Red Rocks Community College not only placed well in our value ranking, but it is also #2 on our Best Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list.
Out of the 16 schools in the Rocky Mountains Region that were part of this year’s value ranking, Front Range Community College landed the # 5 spot on the list. FRCC is located in Westminster, Colorado and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 239 basic certificates to qualified students.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at FRCC are $15,454 a year.
Online courses are available at FRCC, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2019-2020 year, about 38% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
FRCC also made our Best Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list, coming in at #4.
Pikes Peak Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. PPCC is located in Colorado Springs, Colorado and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 67 basic certificates to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at PPCC are $15,403 per year.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at PPCC. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 47% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Weber State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. WSU is a public institution located in Ogden, Utah. The school has a large population, and it awarded 150 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at WSU are $16,644 per year.
Some students may be able to take online classes at WSU. In 2019-2020 about 59% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Utah Valley University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. UVU is located in Orem, Utah and has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 94 basic certificates to qualified students.
UVU undergraduate students pay an average of $17,092 in tuition and fees each year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at UVU. In fact, around 70% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UVU is ranked #5 for overall quality in the Rocky Mountains Region .
University of Wyoming landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate computer science programs. University of Wyoming is a fairly large public school located in Laramie, Wyoming that handed out 10 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at UW are $16,957 a year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at UW. In fact, around 98% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Utah State University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for computer science students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #10 on the list. Located in Logan, Utah, the large public school awarded 4 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at USU are $23,435 per year.
One thing to take note of is that USU does offer online classes in some areas. During the 2019-2020 year, about 77% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
University of Idaho came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. U of I is located in Moscow, Idaho and has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 basic certificates to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at U of I are $27,576 per year.
Online courses are available at U of I, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 66% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Boise State University landed the #12 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate computer science programs. Boise State is a large public school situated in Boise, Idaho. It awarded 2 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
Boise State undergraduate students pay an average of $24,980 in tuition and fees each year.
Boise State does offer online classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 82% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
The University of Montana landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate computer science programs. Missoula, Montana is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out basic certificates to 10 students in 2020-2021.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at UM are $28,476 per year.
UM does offer online classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 47% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Dixie State University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region list. Located in Saint George, Utah, the fairly large public school handed out 36 basic certificate awards in 2020-2021.
Dixie State College undergraduate students pay an average of $16,986 in tuition and fees each year.
You may have the opportunity to take online classes at Dixie State College. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 47% took at least some of their classes online.
Colorado Mesa University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Computer Science Basic Certificate Schools in the Rocky Mountains Region ranking. This medium-sized public school is located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and it awarded 2 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Colorado Mesa are $22,322 a year.
Online courses are available at Colorado Mesa, 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, 62% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
With a ranking of #16, Idaho State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for computer science students working on their basic certificate. ISU is a public institution located in Pocatello, Idaho. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4 basic certificates in 2020-2021.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at ISU are $25,326 a year.
Some students may be able to take online classes at ISU. In 2019-2020 about 61% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 16 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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