$1 Million Prize Recognizes Excellence in Community College Student Success Outcomes; Winner to be Announced in April 2019
Miami, May 15, 2018 – Miami Dade College (MDC) was named today one of ten finalists for the prestigious 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence and $1 million award, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges.
In April 2019, the $1 million Prize purse will be awarded to the winner, two or three finalists-with-distinction, and a “Rising Star” that has achieved exceptional levels of improvement at an event in Washington, D.C.
The 10 Aspen Prize Finalists have achieved strong and improving student success rates in very different contexts – they are from rural and urban areas, serve demographically different student bodies, and offer a varied mix of technical workforce and academic transfer programs.
“These top 10 Prize Finalists serve as models for what community colleges can achieve,” said Joshua Wyner, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program and author of What Excellent Community Colleges Do: Preparing All Students for Success. “Their leaders, faculty, and staffs have developed cultures that drive toward scaled improvements in completion and classroom learning as well as students’ post-graduation success – at universities where they transfer and in the job market. And they work hard to achieve strong results for all students, understanding the critical role community colleges play in advancing social mobility for the many students who historically have been underserved in higher education.”
Awarded every two years since 2011, the Prize recognizes institutions that achieve high and improving student outcomes, selected from over 1,000 community colleges nationwide. Focused solely on student access and success, the Aspen Prize recognizes community colleges with exceptional achievements in four key areas: student learning; certificate and degree completion while in community college and after transferring to a four-year institution; employment and earnings rates after graduation; and access for and success of minority and low-income students.
The 2019 Aspen Prize is generously funded by the Joyce Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, and the Siemens Foundation. To view the complete list of 10 Aspen Prize Finalists, please visit
http://highered.aspeninstitute.org/aspen-prize.
The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program aims to advance higher education practices, policies, and leadership that significantly improve student outcomes. Through the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the Siemens-Aspen Community College STEM Award, and other initiatives, the College Excellence Program works to improve colleges’ understanding and capacity to teach and graduate students, especially the growing population of low-income and minority students on American campuses. For more information, visit http://highered.aspeninstitute.org/.
The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.
About Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College is the nation’s largest, campus-based institution of higher education with an undergraduate enrollment of more than 165,000 students. It is also the nation’s top producer of Associate in Arts and Science degrees and awards more degrees to minorities than any other college or university in the country. The college’s eight campuses offer more than 300 distinct degree pathways including several baccalaureate degrees in biological sciences, engineering, data analytics, information systems technology, education, public safety, supervision and management, nursing, physician assistant studies, film and others. MDC is the recipient of top national awards. As Democracy’s College, MDC changes lives through accessible, high quality-teaching and learning experiences. It houses the Miami Culinary Institute, the Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex, the Miami Fashion Institute, the Eig-Watson School of Aviation, the Idea Center, the School of Advance Studies, the New World School of the Arts, to name a few. MDC has been named among the nation’s “Great Colleges to Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education. The College embraces its responsibility to serve as an economic, cultural, and civic leader for the advancement of our diverse global community. Its alumni and employees contribute more than $6 billion annually to the local economy, and MDC graduates occupy top leadership positions in every major industry. MDC is also renowned for its rich cultural programming. It is home of the Miami Book Fair, Miami Film Festival, the MDC Live! Performing Arts Series, the National Historic Landmark Miami Freedom Tower, the Tower Theater, Dyer Building, Koubek Center Mansion and Gardens, the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives, a sculpture park and a large art gallery system. MDC has admitted more than 2,000,000 students and counting, since it opened its doors in 1960.
Aspen Institute Media Contact: Caroline Broder, 202-464-4353, caroline.broder@aspeninst.org.