For the second consecutive year, Hudson Valley Community College is one of 120 high-achieving two-year colleges listed as a finalist for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.
The eligibility puts Hudson Valley among the top ten percent of the nation’s community colleges, according to The Aspen Institute, which is offering the $1 million prize.
In 2011, Hudson Valley was listed as a finalist in the inaugural Aspen Prize competition. The 2011 prize recipient was Valencia College in Orlando, Florida.
The Aspen Institute is a non-profit education and cultural think tank founded by Chicago businessman Walter Paepcke in the 1950s. The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence is considered the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance in America’s community colleges and seeks to accelerate efforts to improve community college student outcomes, bolstering effective leaders and enabling institutions to learn more effectively from their peers.
The first round selection of 120 schools – from 31 states – was developed based upon achievement in three broad categories: student success in persistence and completion; consistent improvement in outcomes over time; and equity in outcomes for students of all racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Publicly available data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the U.S. Census Bureau was analyzed by an expert panel to make the choices and determine the top schools.
Other New York colleges named in the list are: Broome Community College, Binghamton; CUNY Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn; Finger Lakes Community College in Canandaigua; Genesee Community College; and Jefferson Community College, Watertown.
Hudson Valley is now eligible to reach the next level of the prize competition by providing further data about its performance and student outcomes. A small number of finalists will be named later this year and a final prize of $700,000 is expected to be awarded in December to the winner, as well as smaller prizes to several runners up.
“To be continually recognized amongst the nation’s top community colleges is an honor,” said Hudson Valley Community College President Drew Matonak. “It recognizes the hard work and tangible dedication of our faculty and staff as well as our strong ongoing commitment to student success.”
For further information about the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, go to: www.AspenCCPrize.org.
Published: Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:45:26 +0000 by e.bryant