Last week, the Aspen Institute named Central Louisiana Technical Community College as 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 two-year colleges. The institutions selected for this honor stand out among more than 1,000 community colleges nationwide as having high and improving levels of student success and equitable outcomes for Black and Hispanic students and those from lower-income backgrounds.
“We are extremely honored to again be selected as one of the candidates for this very prestigious honor,” said CLTCC Chancellor Dr. Jimmy Sawtelle. “We strive every day to ensure that CLTCC is focused on student success and I could not be more proud of our CLTCC Team. Be it our recent candidacy status with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, strong retention and graduation rates, or new CLTCC Foundation endowments, this is a testament to CLTCC’s strong business, industry, and community partners.”
The Aspen Prize spotlights exemplary community colleges in order to drive attention to colleges achieving post-graduate success for all students, and is a central way Aspen researches highly effective student success strategies that are shared with the field. The 150 eligible colleges have been invited to submit student success data and narratives about strategies to achieve better and more equitable student outcomes as the next step in an intensive review process that culminates in the naming of the Aspen Prize winner in spring 2025. The eligible colleges represent the diversity and depth of the community college sector.
“The Aspen Prize is rooted first and foremost in an assessment of whether colleges are walking the walk,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. “As community colleges face enrollment variations, enroll students with pandemic-related learning loss, and graduate students into a rapidly changing labor market, it is easy to lose track of what matters most. The best community colleges continue to focus on advancing the core mission: making sure as many students as possible graduate with credentials that lead to fulfilling careers and reflect the development of diverse talent that communities, states, and our nation need.”
While community colleges are an essential contributor to our nation’s success, student outcomes vary substantially among institutions. Aspen measures those variances using multiple data sources and honors colleges with outstanding achievement in six critical areas: teaching and learning, certificate and degree completion, transfer and bachelor’s attainment, workforce success, equitable access to the college, and equitable outcomes for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.
“These 150 colleges have achieved high and improving levels of student success for all students, including those who are often failed by our institutions,” Wyner said. “We’re excited to learn over the coming months how they achieved that success so we can share the most impressive practices with others in the field.” In this first round, eligibility for the Aspen Prize is based on publicly available data. Colleges must show strong, improving, and equitable student outcomes in first-to-second-year retention, credentials awarded, and completion and transfer rates. Nationwide, about 15 percent of community colleges have been invited to apply (150 of just under 1,000 public two-year colleges assessed for Prize eligibility). The full list can be accessed on the Prize homepage.
For a full list of the top 150 eligible institutions and to read more on the selection process, visit https:// highered.aspeninstitute. org/aspen-prize/. Enrollment for the CLTCC Spring semester is now open. For information about enrollment, visit www. CLTCC.edu/apply. For more information, contact the school via email at info@cltcc. edu or call 800-2789855.
