One of nation’s best community colleges located in southeastern Arizona
Aug 23, 2016, 4:12 PM
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PHOENIX — Arizona may be ranked low on most lists when it comes to education, but one of the nation’s best community colleges is located in the southeastern part of the state, a website said.
WalletHub ranked the Cochise County Community College District as the No. 4 community college in the nation.
While the school took a hard hit on its cost and financing metric — essentially a score based on how expensive the school is, how efficient that school is spending funding and other factors — it was tied for first in the nation when it came to the return on educational investment for students.
“That’s the ratio of starting salary for graduates of Cochise to the cost of education,” Jill Gonzales with WalletHub said. “The cost (of attending Cochise) is around $1,800 per year. That was one of the cheapest in the country.”
The school boasts more than 60 associate degree and 30 certificate programs.
Cochise was not the only college to make the list. Tohono O’odham Community College came in at 46th overall and Scottsdale Community College was ranked 66th overall.
Rio Salado Community College boasts the cheapest costs in the nation, but it also tied for the worst graduation rates.
KTAR’s Jeremy Foster contributed to this report.