EAST GRAND FORKS – Northland Community and Technical College has earned the top spot in a national website’s rankings of Minnesota small colleges.

NCTC, with campuses in East Grand Forks and Thief River Falls, came in at No. 1 in the rankings of Minnesota’s top community colleges, according to the site WalletHub. Overall, NCTC ranked No. 18 nationwide.

“As a community college, it is our duty to serve the interests of our community,” interim President Shari Olson said in a release sent to the media. “Keeping costs down is one of our biggest goals year after year, as we want every student who has the desire and the drive to have the opportunity to get a quality education. Our role is to change lives and set students up for lifelong success.”

The survey is conducted annually by WalletHub, considering the quality of education vs. affordable pricing. The rankings are based on 18 key indicators; among them are student-faculty ratio, graduation rates, cost and academic quality.

The release Northland sent to the media included comments from Cassandra Happe, a WalletHub analyst, who also noted the importance of post-graduation career outcomes.

“A good community college minimizes costs for students while also providing an enriching learning experience that leads to high student retention and high graduation rates,” Happe said. “The best colleges also help their students even post-graduation by offering employment services to help them find jobs with good salaries.”

The Wallethub survey showed that tuition and fees for full-time, in-state enrollment at a public two-year college averaged $3,990 per year in 2023-24. That’s up $130 from the previous year. The yearly rate at a two-year college comes in considerably lower than the rates for a year at a public four-year institution ($11,260) and a private four-year institution ($41,540), the survey showed.

Olson also noted NCTC’s graduation and job placement rates.

“Our students are being trained for technical careers that are paramount to local economic growth,” she said. “Our community has no shortage of open positions that need to be filled by skilled workers, and we are committed to the partnerships we’ve forged with local businesses and industries — including Northrop Grumman, Marvin, Digi-Key, Altru, Sanford Health, and more — to support our graduates’ entry into the workforce.”

In last year’s WalletHub survey, Northland placed 31st out of 668 schools nationwide and No. 5 in Minnesota.