Survey ranks Lee College No.14 among US community colleges
August 30, 2024
Lee College ranks No. 14 in a survey of more than 600 community colleges in the United States put together by Smart Asset.com, a free online service that provides financial information.
Further, it was the top-ranked two-year Texas school.
The survey compared 616 two-year schools that offer associate degrees and have at least 500 full-time students based on their retention rates, student-to-faculty ratio and tuition and fees to determine the best community colleges in the U.S.
Gateway Technical College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, ranked No. 1 with a full-time retention rate of 81%, a student-to-faculty rate of eight and $4,766 in tuition and fees for in-state students.North Carolina was home to 65% (13) of the top 20 community colleges. The study says community colleges in that state “tend to have the best balance of retention, personal attention and affordability.”
Also, California was found to have the most affordable community colleges, home to all of the top 50 least expensive schools, charging full-time in-state students less than $1,500 annually for tuition and fees.
Following No. 1 Gateway Tech in the top five are three North Carolina schools — Randolph Community College of Asheboro, Durham Technical Community College of Durham and Wayne Community College of Goldsboro — and Phillips Community College of Helena, Arkansas.
Lee College boasts a 78% full-time retention rate, a 13-to-1 student-to-teacher ratio and a tuition-and-fees cost of $3,346, according to Smart Asset.com’s news release. It says study data compes from Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System for the 2022-2023 school year.