Archives of Community College Practice

For millions of Americans, community colleges provide an essential pathway to well-paying jobs and continuing higher education. The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence honors those institutions that strive for and achieve exceptional levels of success for all students, while they are in college and after they graduate.

Explore the themes identified through the Aspen Prize that characterize colleges that achieve exceptional outcomes for students, examples of successful practice, and learn more about the Aspen Prize selection process.

Insights and evidence gained in administering the inaugural Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Focusing on four domains of excellence—completion, equity, student learning, and labor market success—Josh Wyner describes the policies and practices that have allowed some community colleges to succeed in these areas.

For millions of Americans, community colleges provide an essential pathway to well-paying jobs and continuing higher education. The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence honors those institutions that strive for and achieve exceptional levels of success for all students, while they are in college and after they graduate.

This guide describes how leading community colleges have created cultures in which faculty members consistently work to reform and improve their teaching in ways that measurably improve student learning. It provides a look at some innovative approaches, including the unusual tenure process at Valencia College - winner of the 2011 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence - which is built around a system that requires faculty members to use data and experiment with their own teaching in ways that aim to improve student learning, and supports them along the way.

For millions of Americans, community colleges provide an essential pathway to well-paying jobs and continuing higher education. The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence honors those institutions that strive for and achieve exceptional levels of success for all students, while they are in college and after they graduate.