ECC eligible for prestigious $1 million Aspen Prize

The Aspen Institute named Elgin Community College one of the 150 institutions 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.

Awarded every two years since 2011, this is the fourth time ECC has been recognized as a top 150 college. The colleges selected for this honor stand out among more than 1,000 community colleges nationwide as having high and improving levels of student success as well as equitable outcomes for Black and Hispanic students and those from lower-income backgrounds.

The 150 eligible colleges have been invited to submit data and narratives as the next steps in an intensive data and practice review process, culminating in the announcement of the prize winner in spring 2023.

"This recognition comes as a direct result of the extraordinary work of our faculty, staff and administrators, supported by the District 509 board of trustees," said Dr. David Sam, president of Elgin Community College.

"It is our responsibility as community college educators to recognize and eliminate the barriers our students face in pursuing an education. Consistently being included among this elite group of top 150 colleges in the United States is one way ECC validates the progress and outcomes of our continued efforts on behalf of our students and community."

The Aspen Prize spotlights exemplary community colleges in order to elevate the sector, drive attention to colleges doing the best work, and discover and share highly effective student success and equity strategies.

Since 2010, Aspen has chosen to focus intensively on community colleges because they are - as First Lady Dr. Jill Biden stated at the 2021 Aspen Prize ceremony - "a powerful engine of prosperity."

But student outcomes vary enormously among community colleges, and improving those outcomes is essential to securing our nation's economic future, strengthening communities, and ensuring that diverse populations experience economic mobility and prosperity.

With these goals in mind, the Aspen Prize honors colleges with outstanding achievement in five critical areas: teaching and learning, certificate and degree completion, transfer and bachelor's attainment, workforce success, and equity for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.

"In an era of persistent inequity and workforce talent gaps, our nation's best community colleges are stepping up to deliver more degrees to increasingly diverse students so they are prepared for the good jobs waiting to be filled," said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.

"Leaders of exceptional community colleges understand that achieving excellence requires expanding college access and increasing degree completion, but it doesn't stop there. They are committed to ensuring that all students - including students of color and those from low-income backgrounds - graduate with the skills needed to secure a job with family-sustaining wages or successfully transfer to and graduate from a university.

"That same commitment stands at the center of the Aspen Prize: to advance the goals of social mobility and equitable talent development."

In this first round, eligibility for the Aspen Prize is based on publicly available data. Eligible colleges must show strong and improving student outcomes in key areas such as retention, completion, transfer, and equity.

Nationwide, 15% of community colleges (150 of the approximately 1,000 public two-year colleges nationwide assessed for the prize) have been invited to apply. The full list can be accessed on the prize homepage.