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Best Value Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region

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2023 Best Value Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

75 Colleges
$7,172 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$43,751 Avg Salary

Finding the Best Information Technology 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. As online education oppotunities continue to grow, you're not restricted to just schools in your local area anymore. Even some of the 'big name' schools are offering online courses. Also, there are a number of trade schools with offerings that you might find attractive.

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 Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 75 schools in the Great Lakes Region to see which 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 Schools in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Information Technology Colleges.

Top 15% Best Information Technology Schools

Our analysis found Fox Valley Technical College to be the best value school for information technology students who want to pursue a degree in the Great Lakes Region . Located in the medium-sized suburb of Appleton, FVTC is a public college with a fairly large student population.

FVTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,861 in tuition and fees each year.

FVTC did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our Best Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Information Technology at Fox Valley Technical College Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Madison Area Technical College. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Madison College is a fairly large public school located in the city of Madison.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Madison College are $6,769 per year. On average, IT graduates from Madison College take out $16,250 in student loans while working on their degree.

In addition to its great value ranking, Madison College is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Full Information Technology at Madison Area Technical College Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the rural area of Shell Lake, WITC is a public college with a small student population.

WITC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,960 in tuition and fees each year.

WITC excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Information Technology at Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College

Out of the 75 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Chippewa Valley Technical College landed the # 4 spot on the list. CVTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the city of Eau Claire.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at CVTC are $6,683 a year.

In addition to its great value ranking, CVTC is in the top 10% of all schools on our Best Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list.

Read full report on Information Technology at Chippewa Valley Technical College

Out of the 75 schools in the Great Lakes Region that were part of this year’s ranking, Moraine Park Technical College landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the city of Fond du Lac, Moraine Park Technical College is a public school with a small student population.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Moraine Park Technical College are $6,683 per year.

Read More…

#6

Mid-State Technical College

Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Mid-State Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for information technology students. It came in at #6 on the list. Mid-State is a small public school located in the rural area of Wisconsin Rapids.

The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Mid-State are $6,351 a year.

Read More…

#7

Oakland Community College

Bloomfield Hills, MI
$5,200 Average Tuition & Fees

Oakland Community College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. Oakland Community College is a fairly large public school located in the suburb of Bloomfield Hills.

Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Oakland Community College are $5,200 per year.

Read full report on Information Technology at Oakland Community College

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for information technology students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of Green Bay, NWTC is a public school with a fairly large student population.

NWTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,849 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, NWTC also is in the top 20% of our Best Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read full report on Information Technology at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College

Waukesha County Technical College came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking. WCTC is a moderately-sized public school located in the suburb of Pewaukee.

WCTC undergraduate students pay an average of $6,603 in tuition and fees each year. On average, IT graduates from WCTC take out $18,916 in student loans while working on their degree.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, WCTC also is in the top 15% of our Best Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read full report on Information Technology at Waukesha County Technical College

Sinclair Community College ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region list. Located in the medium-sized city of Dayton, Sinclair Community College is a public college with a fairly large student population.

Sinclair Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $8,076 in tuition and fees each year.

As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Sinclair Community College also is in the top 10% of our Best Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

Read More…

#11

Southwestern Illinois College

Belleville, IL
$5,940 Average Tuition & Fees

Southwestern Illinois College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for information technology students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the suburb of Belleville, SWIC is a public college with a moderately-sized student population.

SWIC undergraduate students pay an average of $5,940 in tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Information Technology at Southwestern Illinois College

Additional Noteworthy Schools

These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Value Information Technology Schools in the Great Lakes Region award.

Rank College Location
12 Western Technical College La Crosse, WI
13 Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, IN
14 Washtenaw Community College Ann Arbor, MI
15 Gateway Technical College Kenosha, WI

Best Information Technology Colleges by State

Explore the best information technology colleges for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 637
Ohio 485
Illinois 510
Indiana 553
Wisconsin 376

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 25 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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