The Medical Assisting program at Southeast Community College is ranked No. 11 on the list of the top 50 most affordable medical assisting schools in the U.S.

SCC’s program, located on the Lincoln Campus, appears on the website www.topmedicalassistantschools.com. The site has this to say about the program.

“Southeast Community College is a great school to attend if you live in Lincoln, Neb., or anywhere else in the country. It has in-state and out-of-state tuition rates at less than $3,000 a year, and it is rated No. 11 on our list of the top 50 most affordable medical (assistant) schools. Here you can earn your medical assisting diploma and join a student population that well exceeds 10,000 pupils.”

The graduation rate and retention rate listed are for all of SCC, not the Medical Assisting program. Most recent data indicates that the program’s graduation rate is just under 50 percent.

Kathy Zabel, program chair, said faculty work hard to prepare students for employment.

“SCC’s Medical Assisting program is proud to be recognized as the number 11 program in the nation,” she said. “We have a dedicated team of faculty who work extremely hard for student success. Ninety-seven percent of our students pass the CMA (American Association of Medical Assistants) Certification Examination prior to graduation. The College and the program are very aggressive in placing students in jobs. Local physician offices want to hire SCC students, and many are hired prior to graduation.”

Of the students who graduated from the program during the 2012-2013 academic year, 97 percent found work or continued their education.

All of the schools on the list are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs, one of the best accreditation boards for medical programs in the United States. The schools are ranked based on their total estimated annual costs, which includes in-state tuition, books, fees, and more.

Each college on the list is ranked based on four major factors: total annual cost, graduation rate, retention rate, and in-state vs. out-of-state tuition. Points were awarded each school that excelled in those categories. The more desirable the statistics were, the more points were awarded to the school. Each factor was allotted 10 possible points, making for a perfect score of 40.

The ranking also was arrived at using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, a service of the National Center for Education Statistics. Retention rates also were courtesy of IPEDS, and they were based on data for first-time degree-seeking undergraduates from the 2011 fall semester. Retention rates showcase the school’s ability to maintain its student population after the first year of attendance.

Persons interested in learning more about SCC’s Medical Assisting program are asked to contact Zabel at 402-437-2756 or go to the program’s website at www.southeast.edu/MedicalAssisting.