The Aspen Institute names Amarillo College a Finalist for 2023 Aspen Prize

Amarillo College, which in 2021 was named one of the nation’s Top 5 community colleges and was dubbed a “Rising Star” by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, is once again an Aspen Prize Finalist.

The Aspen Institute today announced that AC is one of the 10 Finalists for the 2023 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Started in 2010 and awarded every two years, the $1 million Aspen Prize is the nation’s signature recognition of community colleges that are achieving high, improving, and equitable outcomes for students.

According to the Aspen Institute, the 10 Finalists for 2023 represent the amazing potential of America’s thousand-plus community colleges as engines of prosperity and social mobility.

The finalists also represent the impressive diversity of community colleges, from a 2,700-student college in Iowa granting primarily technical awards to a 57,000-student college in Florida with a focus on transfer and bachelor’s degree attainment. No matter their size or location, excellent community colleges, like Amarillo College, are defined by their focus on outcomes and how they develop the talents of their students in ways that strengthen their regional economies and communities.

“We were thrilled by the recognition we received from the Aspen Institute in 2021, and to be named an Aspen Finalist twice in succession is equally gratifying, if not more so,” AC President Russell Lowery-Hart said. “It reinforces our commitment to everything we do.

“But what motivates our faculty and staff to perform at a level so extraordinary that it continues to attract the attention and laurels of the Aspen Institute is not the attainment of awards or prizes; it’s a belief we collectively share that this community deserves to have a College that achieves at the very highest level and loves its student to success.

“That our efforts, undertaken for the benefit of everyone in our community, are deemed worthy of national recognition is not only humbling, it is energizing as well.”

The Aspen Prize honors colleges that show outstanding performance in five critical areas: teaching and learning, certificate and degree completion, transfer and bachelor’s attainment, workforce success, and equitable outcomes for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds. The winner will be announced in the spring of 2023.

“We’re grateful to all the experts who have helped Aspen identify these impressive colleges,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. “We can’t wait to dive in to learn more about how they have achieved these measurable student outcomes so we can share what we learn with the field.”

The Finalists are:

• Amarillo College, TX
• Broward College, FL
• Hostos Community College (CUNY), NY
• Imperial Valley College, CA
• Kingsborough Community College (CUNY), NY
• Moorpark College, CA
• Northwest Iowa Community College, IA
• San Jacinto College, TX
• South Puget Sound Community College, WA
• Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, WI

The Aspen Prize selection process began in October 2021, when the Aspen Institute worked with an expert data panel to craft a formula to assess student outcomes at nearly 1,000 community colleges in key areas such as retention, completion, transfer, and equity. Based on those data, we invited 150 top community colleges to apply, and received 19 applications. A selection committee of 16 higher education experts reviewed applications, including extensive data and narratives on student success strategies. From the 25 highest ranking colleges, announced as semifinalists in April, the committee met in May to choose the 10 Aspen Prize Finalists.

Next steps include:

• Fall 2022: Additional data gathered on student outcomes, including in employment after college; multi-day site visits to each of the 10 Finalists to gather insights about effective practices.
• Winter of 2023: A distinguished jury decides the Aspen Prize winner, based on quantitative data and qualitative information from each of the 10 Finalists.
• Late spring 2023: Announcement of the Aspen Prize winner.