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2021 Best Special Education Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Great Lakes Region

38 Colleges
2,141 Bachelor's Degrees
$25,607 Avg Cost*

Finding the Best Special Education Schools for Non-Traditional Students

Best Special Education Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Great Lakes Region

This year's Best Special Education Colleges for Non-Traditional Students in the Great Lakes Region ranking looked at 38 colleges that offer a bachelor's in special ed. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great special education programs and a strong support system for non-traditional students.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the special education program at the school, affordability, and non-traditional population. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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The special ed school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Special Ed Schools for Non-Traditional Students.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

2021 Best Special Education Schools for Non-Traditional Students in the Great Lakes Region

The following schools top our list of the Best Special Education Colleges for Non-Traditional Students.

Top 10 Best Special Education Schools for Non-Traditional Students

1

Illinois State University has taken the #1 spot in this year's special education ranking for non-traditional students. Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public school with a fairly large student population. As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois State, the school also landed the #1 rank in our Best Colleges for Special Education in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

The student loan default rate at Illinois State is lower than is typical, just 1.7% of students default in three years. There are approximately 7,464 students at Illinois State that take at least one class online. 2,500 of Illinois State students are attending part time.

Full Special Education at Illinois State University Report

2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earned the #2 spot in our 2021 rankings. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Champaign. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, UIUC has also earned the #2 rank in our Best Colleges for Special Education in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

About 0.6% of UIUC students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 35,475 students at UIUC that take at least one class online. 10,007 students are part time.

Read full report on Special Education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

3
Ashland crest
Ashland University
Ashland, OH

Ashland University comes in at #3 in this year's ranking. Ashland is a small private not-for-profit school located in the fringe town of Ashland.

The student loan default rate at Ashland is lower than is typical, just 1.2% of students default in three years. 1,358 of Ashland students are exclusively distance learners. There are roughly 1,993 part time students in attendance at Ashland.

Read full report on Special Education at Ashland University

4

Indiana University - Bloomington earned the #4 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the city of Bloomington, IU Bloomington is a public school with a very large student population. In addition to being on our best for non-traditional students list, IU Bloomington has also earned the #3 rank in our Best Colleges for Special Education in the Great Lakes Region ranking.

The student loan default rate at IU Bloomington is lower than is typical, just 1.4% of students default in three years. There are approximately 18,013 students at IU Bloomington that take at least one class online. There are roughly 5,256 part time students in attendance at IU Bloomington.

Read More…

5
SMWC crest
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Saint Mary of the Woods, IN

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College comes in at #5 in this year's ranking. SMWC is a small private not-for-profit school located in the rural area of Saint Mary of the Woods.

The student loan default rate at SMWC is lower than is typical, just 0.6% of students default in three years. 311 students at SMWC are exclusively online. About 352 of the students at SMWC are attending part time.

Read More…

6

Our rankings recognize Ball State University as the #6 school in this year's rankings. Ball State is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Muncie. Ball State also took the #7 spot in our Best Colleges for Special Education in the Great Lakes Region rankings.

The student loan default rate at Ball State is lower than is typical, just 1.9% of students default in three years. There are approximately 7,100 students at Ball State that take at least one class online. 6,060 students are part time.

Read More…

7

University of Wisconsin - Whitewater earned the #7 spot in our 2021 rankings. Located in the distant town of Whitewater, UW - Whitewater is a public college with a fairly large student population.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 1.0%. Approximately 5,785 students take at least one class online at UW - Whitewater. About 2,457 of the students at UW - Whitewater are attending part time.

Read More…

8
Walsh crest
Walsh University
North Canton, OH

Our rankings recognize Walsh University as the #8 school in this year's rankings. Walsh is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of North Canton.

About 1.1% of Walsh students default on their loans in three years, which is lower than average. There are approximately 1,211 students at Walsh that take at least one class online. There are roughly 749 part time students in attendance at Walsh.

Read More…

9

Our rankings recognize Eastern Illinois University as the #9 school in this year's rankings. EIU is a moderately-sized public school located in the town of Charleston.

The student loan default rate at EIU is lower than is typical, just 2.4% of students default in three years. Approximately 2,449 students take at least one class online at EIU. About 3,894 of the students at EIU are attending part time.

Read full report on Special Education at Eastern Illinois University

10

Northern Illinois University landed the #10 spot in our 2021 best special education schools for non-traditional students. Located in the small suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public college with a large student population.

The school has a low student loan default rate of 2.1%. Approximately 8,712 students take at least one class online at NIU. 4,345 students are part time.

Full Special Education at Northern Illinois University Report

Best for Non-Traditional Students Special Education Colleges by State

Explore the best for non-traditional students special education schools for a specific state in the Great Lakes region.

State Degrees Awarded
Michigan 318
Ohio 840
Illinois 522
Indiana 238
Wisconsin 310

One of 14 majors within the Education area of study, Special Education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*Avg Cost is for the top 25 schools only.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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