North Carolina Community Colleges Dominate Rankings In Annual Survey

An annual study that ranks the country's best community colleges heavily features North Carolina schools. 

North Carolina community colleges take the top six spots of this year's SmartAsset study, with eight schools in the top 10. This is the second year in a row the state has dominated the list. 

All of the North Carolina schools get high marks in the main metrics, which include both low student-to-faculty ratios and high graduation rates, along with a relatively low cost of tuition.

Brunswick Community College, in eastern North Carolina, came in at number one, with an 82 percent graduation rate and tuition costs of about $2,500.

Closer to the Triad, Randolph Community College in Asheboro ranked ninth, right after Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory which came in at number eight.

Census Bureau data show that while attendance at two-year institutions has seen a slight decline recently, nearly one-third of all college students in America attended a community college between 1980 and 2015.

President Biden is pursuing a proposal to offer free tuition at all community colleges.