Allan Hancock College was named one of the nation’s top 150 community colleges and is now eligible to compete for the 2015 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence and $1 million in prize funds. It’s one of seven California community colleges that were recognized.
The prize is awarded every two years and is one of the ways high achievement and performance is recognized among community colleges. The recognition is based on exceptional student outcomes in four areas: student learning, certificate and degree completion, employment and earnings, and high levels of access and success for minority and low-income students.
According to a press release from Hancock, this is the second time the school has been selected as a top college by Aspen.
“It’s exciting that others recognize the results of the amazing work that our faculty and staff do every day. Allan Hancock College is a life-changing institution that is making a substantial difference on the Central Coast,” Kevin Walthers, Hancock’s superintendent/president, said in the press release.
The 150 colleges were selected from a national pool of more than 1,000 public two-year colleges using available data on student outcomes. The Aspen Institute uses a formula devised by the Center for Higher Education Management systems and consults with an advisory committee to select the top schools.
“This competition is designed to spotlight the excellent work being done in the most effective community colleges, those that best help students obtain meaningful, high quality education and training for competitive-wage jobs after college,” Josh Wyner, executive director for the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, said in the press release.
Hancock will soon submit an application containing detailed information on degree/certificate completion as well as labor market and student learning outcomes. Ten finalists will be named in the fall, and then the institute will visit each of those sites and collect more data. A grand prize winner and finalists will be announced in early 2015.
This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 3, 2014.