Cochise Ranked Third-Best Community College in the Country

Cochise College ranks third-best community college in the country for the second year in a row, according to an annual study by SmartAsset.com publicized in a Huffington Post article last Thursday.

The study ranks nearly 600 schools by analyzing the cost of attendance, return on investment, graduation success rate, and student-teacher ratio, in order to determine the best community colleges in the nation.

This year, Fort Scott Community College of Fort Scott, Kansas, earned the top spot, and Rend Lake College of Ina, Illinois, came in second. Cochise College received third-best and was commended for its affordability and student financial success.

“For the second year in a row, Cochise College ranks as the third best community college in the nation. It does so on the strength of its low cost and high return on investment. In-state tuition for a student at Cochise College is just $1,752, well below the national average of about $3,000. Yet, students who graduate from Cochise on average earn a starting salary 60% higher than the total cost of their education.”

“Our mission here at Cochise College has always been to provide a quality education for students in a cost-effective manner, and to support their academic goals before and after their successful completion of a two-year education. This recognition is a good reminder of our commitment to them,” said Cochise College President J.D. Rottweiler.

The Huffington Post describes the importance of community colleges and the increasing impact they have on students: “As the cost of attending a four-year college or university continues to grow throughout the country, community colleges have assumed an increasingly important role in our higher education system. Tuition and fees at community colleges are one-third those at public four-year colleges and universities, on average.”