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Best Value Information Technology Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

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2023 Best Value Information Technology Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

17 Colleges
$8,496 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$35,972 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Information Technology Associate Degree 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.

Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Computer Science Degree Search has created the Best Value Information Technology Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 17 schools in the Plains States Region to see which associate degree programs offered the best value experiences for IT students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

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 Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region

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

Top 10 Best Information Technology Associate Degree Schools

#1

Hennepin Technical College

Brooklyn Park, MN

Our analysis found Hennepin Technical College to be the best value school for information technology students who want to pursue a associate degree in the Plains States Region . Located in the large suburb of Brooklyn Park, Hennepin Technical College is a public college 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. The average amount in student loans that IT majors at Hennepin Technical College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $21,008.

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The excellent associate degree programs at Dakota County Technical College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value information technology schools in the Plains States Region . DCTC is a small public school located in the rural area of Rosemount.

DCTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,208 in tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that IT majors at DCTC take out while working on their Associate Degree is $23,546.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend St Cloud Technical and Community College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Information Technology Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. Located in the city of Saint Cloud, St Cloud Technical and Community College is a public college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at St Cloud Technical and Community College are $5,874 a year. IT majors at St Cloud Technical and Community College take out an average of $20,410 in student loans while working on their Associate Degree.

Read full report on Information Technology at St Cloud Technical and Community College

The excellent associate degree programs at Anoka-Ramsey Community College helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best value information technology schools in the Plains States Region . Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus is a medium-sized public school located in the suburb of Coon Rapids.

Anoka-Ramsey Community College-Coon Rapids Campus undergraduate students pay an average of $5,515 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Information Technology at Anoka-Ramsey Community College Report

#5

Johnson County Community College

Overland Park, KS

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Johnson County Community College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value Information Technology Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. 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.

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#6

Southeast Technical College

Sioux Falls, SD

Southeast Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for information technology students to get a associate degree. It came in at #6 on the list. Southeast Tech is a small public school located in the rural area of Sioux Falls.

Southeast Tech undergraduate students pay an average of $7,650 in tuition and fees each year.

Full Information Technology at Southeast Technical College Report

With a ranking of #7, Minneapolis Community and Technical College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for information technology students working on their associate degree. Located in the city of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Community and Technical College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Minneapolis Community and Technical College are $5,906 a year. The average amount in student loans that IT majors at Minneapolis Community and Technical College take out while working on their Associate Degree is $26,520.

Read full report on Information Technology at Minneapolis Community and Technical College

Des Moines Area Community College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Information Technology Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list. DMACC is a very large public school located in the large suburb of Ankeny.

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

DMACC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Information Technology Associate Degree Schools in the Plains States Region list.

Read full report on Information Technology at Des Moines Area Community College

#9

Kirkwood Community College

Cedar Rapids, IA

Kirkwood Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for information technology students to get a associate degree. It came in at #9 on the list. Kirkwood Community College is a fairly large public school located in the midsize city of Cedar Rapids.

Kirkwood Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $7,072 in tuition and fees each year. After completing their Associate Degree, IT graduates from Kirkwood Community College carry an average student debtload of $20,255.

Read full report on Information Technology at Kirkwood Community College

#10

Saint Paul College

Saint Paul, MN

Saint Paul College landed the #10 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value associate degree information technology programs. Located in the city of Saint Paul, Saint Paul College is a public college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Saint Paul College are $6,041 a year.

Read full report on Information Technology at Saint Paul College

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 17 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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