By Mark Meredith/TVCC Information
Highlighting the critical importance of improving student success in America’s community colleges, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program recently named Trinity Valley Community College as one of the nation’s top 150 community colleges eligible to compete for the 2017 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence and $1 million dollars in prize funds, as well as Siemens Technical Scholars Program student scholarships.
The Prize, awarded every two years, is the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges and recognizes institutions for exceptional student outcomes in four areas: student learning, certificate and degree completion, employment and earnings, and access and success for minority and low-income students.
“The exceptionalism of the Trinity Valley Community College faculty and staff and their focus on student success continues to be acknowledged,” TVCC President Dr. Glendon Forgey said. “The college and its faculty and staff are accustomed to achieving and maintaining excellence. This is once again validated by the recognition of being one of the top community colleges in the nation by the Aspen Institute. After earning this honor each time the Aspen Institute has announced the list, TVCC faculty and staff continue to work diligently and with great commitment to ensure that the college is among the best in the nation and that the college provides the resources necessary to make our students successful.”
For the first time, the 150 prize-eligible institutions are also invited to nominate exceptional students enrolled in their best middle-skill STEM programs for scholarships. Up to 50 Siemens Technical Scholars will be selected from programs that provide outstanding preparation for high-demand jobs in manufacturing, energy, health care, and information technology. A partnership between the Siemens Foundation and the Aspen Institute, the Siemens Technical Scholars Program intends to help our nation’s community colleges and their business partners bridge the gap between projected shortages of skilled workers and the millions of high-demand jobs in these STEM industries. Scholarship winners and the programs that deliver rigorous training enabling their success will be announced in fall 2016.
Colleges are selected from a national pool of over 1,000 public two-year colleges using publicly available data on student outcomes in three areas:
Performance (retention, graduation rates including transfers, and degrees and certificates per 100 full-time equivalent students)
Improvement (awarded for steady improvement in each performance metric over time)
Equity (evidence of strong completion outcomes for minority and low-income students)
Ten finalists will be named in fall 2016. The Aspen Institute will then conduct site visits to each of the finalists and collect additional quantitative data. A distinguished Prize Jury will select a grand prize winner and a few finalists with distinction in early 2017.
The Aspen Prize is funded by the Joyce Foundation, the Siemens Foundation and the Kresge Foundation. The Aspen College Excellence Program aims to advance higher education practices, policies and leadership that significantly improve student outcomes. The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues.