Seven community colleges across the state, including Central Georgia Technical College, earned Georgia the No. 11 best ranking in the article, 2016’s States with the Best and Worst Community College Systems published by the finance website WalletHub.

Results for the overall state rankings were compiled from the website’s analysis of additional article entitled, 2016’s Best and Worst Community Colleges which examined tuition cost, graduation rates, student-faculty ratios and other key metrics in 821 community colleges nationwide.

CGTC ranks 126 out of the 821 analyzed. Seven out of the 12 community colleges examined in Georgia were ranked in the top 400 institutions.

Data were obtained from the National Center of Education Statistics, Council for Community and Economic Research and College Measures. In it, state rankings are given a weighted average based on categorical performance assessments of their individual colleges.

On individual measures of educational outcomes, which include first-year retention rate, graduation rate, transfer-out rate, credentials awarded per 100-fultime students, and faculty-student ratio, CGTC is ranked 39 out of 821 community colleges in the nation.

The article also cites research on how post-graduation earnings of community college graduates out-perform bachelor’s degree holders in many fields and data that determines the cost and financial effectiveness for community colleges. CGTC performed well in both categories.