ECC named one of 150 top community colleges eligible to compete for $1 million dollar Aspen Prize

Elgin Community College was named one of 150 community colleges eligible to compete for the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation's signature recognition of high achievement and performance in America's community colleges.

ECC was selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 public, two-year colleges nationwide to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize.

"This recognition is a testament of the hard work and dedication of our faculty, staff and administrators with the support of our Board of Trustees," said David Sam, JD, PhD, LLM, president of Elgin Community College. "We are proud to be among the top 150 colleges in the nation for a second time. It is quite an honor."

Awarded every two years since 2011, the Aspen Prize recognizes institutions with outstanding achievements in four areas: learning; certificate and degree completion; employment and earnings; and high levels of access and success for minority and low-income students.

ECC will move forward to the next round of the competition for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence by submitting an application to be reviewed through a rigorous evaluation for a spot on the top 10 Aspen Prize finalists list. Top ten finalists will be named in May 2018.

The Aspen Institute will then conduct site visits to each of the finalists and collect additional quantitative data. A distinguished Prize Jury will select a grand prize winner, finalists with distinction, and rising stars in spring 2019.