Value Colleges.com ranked Des Moines Area Community College 10th on its annual list of the “Top 50 Best Value Community Colleges of 2016.”
Using data from College Measures, a Gates Foundation-supported database, Value Colleges evaluated 1,717 community colleges across the nation on tuition cost, graduation/transfer rates and graduate salaries and accreditation. DMACC placed 10th.
The Top 50 College ranking is derived from the highest scores which give a complete impression of how much each community college is worth, from cost to return (on investment).
The report highlighted DMACC’s many transfer agreements, number of degrees offered and national recognition for excellence.
The Value Colleges report noted the challenges that institutions and students face today. With university and college enrollments on the decline (in many places), and tuition rates going steadily higher and higher, there is concern in higher education that not enough people and are getting the education they need to compete in a tight labor market.
Approximately 45 percent of undergraduates in the United States today are enrolled at a community college. The other Iowa community college to be included in the Top 50 was Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, placing 45th.
The top 10 included:
No. 1, De Anza College, Cupertino, Calif.; No. 2, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, Calif.; No. 3, Meridian Community College, Meridian, Mis.; No. 4 Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, Calif.; No. 5, Normandale Community College, Bloomington, Minn.; No. 6, Schoolcraft College, Livonia, Mich.; No. 7, Hutchinson Community College, Hutchinson, Kan.; No. 8, Santa Barbara City College, Santa Barbara, Calif.; No. 9, Anoka-Ramsey Community College, Coon Rapids, Minn.; and No. 10, Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny.