2023 Best Value Trade School Basic Certificate Schools in Tennessee
Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Prices
There are so many trade school programs in today's world that it can tough to figure out which one is the right one for you. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house.
To assist you in seeing some of the education options that are available to you, Trade College Search has created its Best Value Trade School Basic Certificate Schools in Tennessee ranking. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in Tennessee to see which basic certificate programs offered the best value experiences for trade school students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.
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Top Value Trade Basic Certificate Schools in Tennessee
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Motlow State Community College to be the best value school for trade school students who want to pursue a basic certificate in Tennessee. Motlow State Community College is a medium-sized public school located in Tullahoma, Tennessee that handed out 94 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Motlow are $17,232 per year.
One thing to take note of is that Motlow does offer online classes in some areas. In fact, around 76% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Motlow did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in Tennessee list.
The excellent basic certificate programs at Jackson State Community College helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value trade school schools in Tennessee. Jackson State Community College is a small public school located in Jackson, Tennessee that handed out 102 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at JSCC are $18,076 per year.
JSCC does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. During the 2020-2021 year, about 71% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
JSCC also made our Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in Tennessee list, coming in at #3.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Volunteer State Community College is a great place for trade school students working on their basic certificate who want the most bang for their educational buck. Located in Gallatin, Tennessee, the medium-sized public school awarded 281 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2021-2022.
VSCC undergraduate students pay an average of $17,220 in tuition and fees each year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at VSCC. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 72% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
VSCC also made our Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in Tennessee list, coming in at #5.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Southwest Tennessee Community College. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Basic Certificate Schools in Tennessee list. Located in Memphis, Tennessee, the medium-sized public school handed out 159 basic certificate awards in 2021-2022.
Southwest undergraduate students pay an average of $17,246 in tuition and fees each year.
Southwest does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 64% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Dyersburg State Community College. The school came in at #5 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Basic Certificate Schools in Tennessee list. DSCC is a small public school situated in Dyersburg, Tennessee. It awarded 307 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
DSCC undergraduate students pay an average of $17,226 in tuition and fees each year.
One thing to take note of is that DSCC does offer online classes in some areas. In 2020-2021 about 62% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Walters State Community College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Trade School Basic Certificate Schools in Tennessee list. Located in Morristown, Tennessee, the medium-sized public school awarded 236 diplomas to qualifed basic certificate students in 2021-2022.
WSCC undergraduate students pay an average of $17,215 in tuition and fees each year.
WSCC does offer online classes for certain degree levels. During the 2020-2021 year, about 66% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Columbia State Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #7 on the list. Columbia, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out basic certificates to 119 students in 2021-2022.
Columbia State Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $17,260 in tuition and fees each year.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Columbia State Community College does offer online classes for certain majors. In fact, around 88% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
Pellissippi State Community College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value places for trade school students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #8 on the list. Pellissippi State Community College is a public institution located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 314 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Pellissippi State Community College are $17,272 per year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Pellissippi State Community College. During the 2020-2021 year, about 74% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Chattanooga State Community College landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate trade school programs. Chattanooga State Community College is a medium-sized public school situated in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It awarded 184 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Chattanooga State Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $17,246 in tuition and fees each year.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Chattanooga State Community College. In 2020-2021 about 52% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Roane State Community College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Basic Certificate Schools in Tennessee ranking. Located in Harriman, Tennessee, the small public school handed out 45 basic certificate awards in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Roane State Community College are $17,540 per year.
Online courses are available at Roane State Community College, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2020-2021 about 52% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Northeast State Community College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Trade School Basic Certificate Schools in Tennessee ranking. This medium-sized public school is located in Blountville, Tennessee, and it awarded 169 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Northeast State Technical Community College undergraduate students pay an average of $17,238 in tuition and fees each year.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Northeast State Technical Community College. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2020-2021 academic year, around 60% took at least some of their classes online.
With a ranking of #12, Middle Tennessee State University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. Located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, the large public school handed out 4 basic certificate awards in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Middle Tennessee State University are $28,264 per year.
Online courses are available at Middle Tennessee State University, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. During the 2020-2021 year, about 44% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Middle Tennessee State University also made our Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in Tennessee list, coming in at #1.
Cleveland State Community College landed the #13 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate trade school programs. Cleveland State Community College is a public institution located in Cleveland, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 401 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Cleveland State Community College are $17,216 per year.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Cleveland State Community College does offer online classes for certain majors. In fact, around 50% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #14, Nashville State Community College did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. Nashville State Community College is a medium-sized public school located in Nashville, Tennessee that handed out 87 basic certificates in 2021-2022.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate students at Nashville State Community College are $17,188 a year.
Nashville State Community College does offer online classes for certain degree levels. In fact, around 52% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2020-2021.
With a ranking of #15, Remington College - Memphis Campus did quite well on this year’s best value schools for trade school students working on their basic certificate. Remington College - Memphis Campus is located in Memphis, Tennessee and has a very small student population. In 2021-2022, this school awarded 117 basic certificates to qualified students.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Remington College - Memphis Campus are $19,964 per year.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Remington College - Memphis Campus. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 99% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2020-2021.
Remington College - Memphis Campus also made our Best Basic Certificate Trade Schools in Tennessee list, coming in at #4.
Best Value Trade Basic Certificate Schools in the Southeast Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 15 schools only.
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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