Study ranks Northern among top schools

TONKAWA — Northern Oklahoma College offers students the highest return on investment among public two-year colleges, according to a new study.

In its third annual study, SmartAsset reports the starting salary for the average NOC graduate is 1.9 times the total cost of attendance.

“Our students perform well in school and that translates to a great workforce,” President Cheryl Evans said. “They earn salaries that show the investment worked.”

In-state students pay $3,470 in tuition and mandatory fees for 30 credit hours.

SmartAsset’s 2016 list of best community colleges in America ranked NOC third overall behind Rend Lake College in Ina, Ill., and Mitchell (S.D.) Technical Institute.

Evans said Northern has been in the Top 10 each year. It is the only Oklahoma college ranked.

The study took 565 twoyear public colleges and ranked them by looking at four factors: the student-faculty ratio, the graduation and transfer rate, the cost of in-state tuition and fees, and the ratio of graduates’ median starting salaries to the full cost of attendance.

SmartAsset reported fewer students graduated from a community college or transferred to a fouryear institution in the past year. But that rate rose from 43 to 48 percent at NOC.

Northern is the state’s oldest community college, established in 1901 in Tonkawa. Today there are branch campuses in Enid and Stillwater.

The study listed NOC’s student-faculty ratio at 17-to-1.

“It’s a very personal experience. The students feel comfortable participating in class,” Evans said.

Professors notice when students are missing and reach out to help, she said.

Class sizes will increase this fall due to budget cuts, she said.

At the same time, enrollment is expected to be up about 4 percent from last fall.

External validation, like the SmartAsset study, makes a difference when it comes to recruiting and attracting students, she said.

Fall 2015 enrollment for Northern Oklahoma College was just shy of 4,600 students.