What is the ASPEN 2013 Award?

Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence 
The purpose of the Aspen Prize is to recognize community colleges with outstanding academic and workforce outcomes in both absolute performance and improvements over time. By focusing on student success and lifting up models that work, the Aspen Prize will honor excellence, stimulate innovation, and create benchmarks for measuring progress.

Visit the ASPEN website: ASPEN 2013 Website

What is measured?

Collection of New Data. In Round II, a Finalist Selection Committee of former community college presidents and faculty, along with respected researchers and policy experts, identified institutions that deliver exceptional student outcomes in four areas:

• Completion Outcomes: Institutional practices and policies leading to frequent completion of associate’s degrees, credentials of at least one year in duration, and/or transfer to four-year colleges.
• Labor Market Outcomes: Institutional practices and policies aligned with labor market needs and student labor market success, resulting in high rates of employment and earnings for graduates.
• Learning Outcomes:  Institutional practices and policies that result in strong and improving levels of student learning in courses, within programs, and college-wide level.
• Equitable Outcomes: Institutional practices and policies that ensure access and success among students who are often under-served, including those from three  underrepresented racial/ethnic groups—African American, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American—and students from low-income backgrounds.