Which Southeast Community College Area associate's program has the lowest debt?

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair graduates leave with a median of $10,375 in federal loans, the lowest among 16 Southeast Community College Area associate's programs that report debt.

How much does Southeast Community College Area cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $3,690 a year, and $4,320 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $9,171 a year.

How many Southeast Community College Area programs report graduate pay?

19 associate's programs and 5 certificate programs at Southeast Community College Area report first-year pay, and 21 of them also report federal debt.

Southeast Community College Area Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Public college
Lincoln, NE
6,773 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

19 Southeast Community College Area associate's programs report what graduates earn. Energy Systems Technology pays the most in the first year ($104,847), and Mental Health and Addiction Services the least ($25,644). The median program pays $46,884. Southeast Community College Area also has 5 certificate programs that report pay.

In-state tuition and fees$3,690Per year. Out-of-state $4,320

Average net price after aid$9,171Per year

Graduation rate38%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

All 19 associate's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Nebraska" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across Nebraska. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Nebraska
1	Energy Systems TechnologyAbout 11 graduates a year	$104,847	$79,997	$11,000	1st of 1
2	NursingAbout 39 graduates a year	$71,239	$75,263	$25,814	1st of 6
3	Quality Control and Safety TechnologyAbout 6 graduates a year	$57,207	$99,896	Not reported	1st of 1
4	Electrical Engineering TechnologyAbout 2 graduates a year	$56,906	$71,461	$11,000	1st of 1
5	Computer and Information ScienceAbout 64 graduates a year	$55,738	$66,541	$19,140	1st of 3
6	Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 71 graduates a year	$52,556	$55,467	$10,375	1st of 4
7	HVACAbout 23 graduates a year	$49,666	$60,687	Not reported	1st of 1
8	Welding and MachiningAbout 50 graduates a year	$49,114	$61,826	$11,650	1st of 2
9	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 86 graduates a year	$48,917	$58,322	$17,713	4th of 4
10	Medical Laboratory ScienceAbout 14 graduates a year	$46,884	Not reported	$19,067	1st of 1
11	Agricultural BusinessAbout 35 graduates a year	$42,642	$48,062	$10,748	1st of 2
12	Drafting and Design TechnologyAbout 26 graduates a year	$41,599	$56,867	$16,437	1st of 1
13	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 16 graduates a year	$39,334	$41,589	$17,675	3rd of 5
14	Business AdministrationAbout 82 graduates a year	$36,781	$43,113	$14,297	2nd of 5
15	Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 124 graduates a year	$31,041	$44,588	$11,000	2nd of 5
16	Human Development and Family StudiesAbout 23 graduates a year	$29,534	$32,146	$16,165	1st of 1
17	Criminal JusticeAbout 28 graduates a year	$28,473	$46,252	$14,552	3rd of 3
18	Culinary ArtsAbout 11 graduates a year	$26,446	$34,047	Not reported	1st of 1
19	Mental Health and Addiction ServicesAbout 26 graduates a year	$25,644	$37,482	$22,940	1st of 1

Program names link to the program's own page, and Nebraska ranks link to the full ranking for the field. A program gets its own page when it reports both pay and debt and at least five Nebraska programs in the field do too.

All 5 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in Nebraska" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across Nebraska. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in Nebraska
1	Practical NursingAbout 92 graduates a year	$43,044	$52,027	$15,985	1st of 2
2	Culinary ArtsAbout 16 graduates a year	$36,734	Not reported	$19,146	1st of 1
3	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 22 graduates a year	$36,408	$40,813	$8,491	1st of 1
4	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 31 graduates a year	$35,315	$40,080	$12,252	1st of 1
5	Truck Driving and Equipment OperationAbout 68 graduates a year	$30,980	Not reported	$8,196	1st of 1

Quick picks: associate's programs

Highest first-year pay

Energy Systems Technology$104,847
Nursing$71,239
Quality Control and Safety Technology$57,207
Electrical Engineering Technology$56,906
Computer and Information Science$55,738

Lowest median debt

Vehicle Maintenance and Repair$10,375
Agricultural Business$10,748
Energy Systems Technology$11,000
Electrical Engineering Technology$11,000
Liberal Arts and General Studies$11,000

Largest programs

Liberal Arts and General StudiesAbout 124 graduates a year
Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 86 graduates a year
Business AdministrationAbout 82 graduates a year
Vehicle Maintenance and RepairAbout 71 graduates a year
Computer and Information ScienceAbout 64 graduates a year

Common questions

Energy Systems Technology graduates earn a median of $104,847 in their first year, the most of 19 Southeast Community College Area associate's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Nebraska rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels