Washington, DC — An international nonprofit organization whose aim is the realization of “a free, just, and equitable society” has named a local institution of higher learning as a semifinalist for a national prize.
The Aspen Institute has announced 25 semifinalists for their “Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence,” and Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon is on the list. The Aspen Institute has also added a milestone in the award selection process.
Officials with the Aspen Institute say the $1 million Aspen Prize is the nation’s signature recognition of community colleges that are achieving high, improving, and equitable outcomes for students. In years past, only ten finalists have been named on the road to the winner, and this change is designed to highlight the increased number of colleges across the country doing excellent work.
The 25 semifinalists are
Amarillo College, TX
Broward College, FL
Cloud County Community College, KS
Elgin Community College, IL
Georgia Highlands College, GA
Harper College, IL
Hostos Community College (CUNY), NY
Imperial Valley College, CA
Itawamba Community College, MS
Kingsborough Community College (CUNY), NY
LaGuardia Community College (CUNY), NY
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, MS
Moorpark College, CA
North Iowa Area Community College, IA
Northwest Iowa Community College, IA
Pierce College, WA
San Jacinto College, TX
Seminole State College of Florida, FL
South Florida State College, FL
South Puget Sound Community College, WA
Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, WI
Southwestern Community College, NC
Tallahassee Community College, FL
Union County College, NJ
Western Technical College, WI
Aspen officials tell us that the Aspen Prize, which is awarded every two years, honors colleges with outstanding performance in five critical areas: teaching and learning, certificate and degree completion, transfer and bachelor’s attainment, workforce success, and equitable outcomes for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. The winner will be announced in the spring of 2023.
Dr. John Hartog, president of Northwest Iowa Community College, says, “NCC is one of the few colleges that has been among the 150 colleges that are eligible for the Aspen Prize all seven times since the inception of the competition (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023). This places NCC among the highest performing community colleges in the nation.”
NCC performed well when compared with the other 150 Aspen Prize eligible colleges:
· Top 5% for graduation rates for Pell Grant recipients (low-income students)
· Top 8% for first-year retention rate
· Top 8% for 3-year graduation rate for first-time, full-time students
· Top 11% for 3-year graduation rate for students of color
Hartog tells us that in previous award cycles, Aspen had not recognized the top 25 colleges, so he calls the news “an exciting new step for NCC in this award process.” He says those at NCC are grateful for this “prestigious recognition which speaks so well of our Trustees and employees—all of whom constantly focus on student success.” Hartog says NCC contributes to the strength and vitality of Northwest Iowa by providing quality, accessible, and affordable education to all its students.
Next, the committee will review its interviews with college leadership teams and will narrow this selection of 25 semifinalists to 10 finalists, to be announced in early June 2022. In the fall of 2022, multi-day site visits to each of the 10 finalists will occur, when teams of experts collect even more student outcomes data and gather insights about effective practices. In the winter of 2023 a distinguished jury decides who wins the Aspen Prize, based on quantitative data and qualitative information from each of the 10 finalists. The winner will be announced in the late spring, about a year from now.
Aspen officials tell us the Aspen Prize is generously funded by Ascendium, the Joyce Foundation, JPMorgan, and the Kresge Foundation.
