For the second consecutive year, Butler County Community College has been recognized as offering the most affordable tuition and having the highest salary-to-cost ratio among more than 40 regional colleges and universities.

U.S. Department of Education College Scoreboard data reveals that BC3’s average net annual tuition of $4,727 was the lowest among 43 public and private institutions in Western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia, the university said.

The second lowest was Westmoreland County Community College at $7,993. The most affordable tuition among five regional Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education universities was $14,612. Among 21 regional private institutions, the most affordable tuition was $18,117.

BC3’s salary-to-cost ratio, a measurement of graduates’ salaries 10 years after graduation for every dollar a student pays to attend the institution, was the highest at 7.45. West Virginia University was second at 4.79. The highest ratio among five regional PSSHE universities was 2.61. The highest ratio among the 21 private institutions was 2.81. BC3 in 2017 topped 41 other institutions in average net annual price and salary-to-cost ratio.

“We are very proud of that,” BC3 President Nick Neupauer said when he announced the results of the scoreboard study during Wednesday’s board of trustees meeting.

Read more about this story in Sunday’s Butler Eagle.