BY RACHEL COLEMAN
Seward County Community College ranked fourth in the state for the best two-year colleges, according to University HQ. The independent education organization compiles data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Census Bureau, the Department of Education, and institutions of higher learning to rank colleges and universities nationwide.
“While we always want to strive to be the best, fourth in the state is pretty awesome,” wrote SCCC President Brad Bennett in a campus-wide announcement. “It’s something to be proud of.”
SCCC was evaluated on criteria that included cost of tuition, admission rate, retention rate, graduation rate, graduation salary (ROI), number of programs offered in person and online, diplomas awarded, loan default rate, percentage of students who receive financial aid, and reputation and expert opinion.
University HQ ranked Colby Community College, Cowley College, and Hutchinson Community College first, second and third respectively. Seward held its own in comparison, with a lower net price than the top-ranked school, and a higher average graduate salary than all three.
“We often talk about how Seward is the best-kept secret in the state, and this really illustrates that,” Bennett said. “The value we provide students is top-notch, and we can tell them with confidence that attending SCCC will pay off the minute they earn their degree.”
SCCC’s Southwest Kansas peers, Dodge City and Garden City Community Colleges, ranked 8 and 10.
Friendly competition aside, Bennett said the biggest challenge for SCCC is to continue to focus on improvement.
“I believe in trying to do a little better every single day,” he said. “It’s great to see the results and I hope it will inspire us to keep improving in what we do. We have the best team of people working at SCCC, and I’m so proud of each one.”
See the full report here: https://universityhq.org/best-colleges/kansas/
