Sheldon, Iowa — Northwest Iowa Community College — or NCC — in Sheldon will be competing for a million-dollar prize.
NCC officials tell us the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program named NCC as one of 150 community colleges eligible to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges.
Based on impressive and improving student outcomes — including: learning, completion rates, employment rates and earnings, and equity — 15 percent of community colleges nationwide have been invited to apply for the Aspen Prize.
Dr. Alethea Stubbe, President of NCC says that out of 1,047 community colleges in the country, NCC is 1 of only 15 colleges that have been recognized as top 150 Aspen colleges all SIX times since the inception of the competition. She says this places NCC in the top 1.43% of the highest performing colleges in the nation. She says NCC is grateful for this prestigious recognition. She says it is well-deserved by their employees who constantly focus on student success.
The 150 community colleges named as eligible to compete for the 2021 Aspen Prize were selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 public two-year colleges across the nation using publicly available data on student outcomes.
For a full list of the top 150 eligible institutions and to read more on the selection process, visit highered.aspeninstitute.org/aspen-prize.
