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General 0 Today, the Aspen Institute named Itawamba 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. Those 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. “It is a tremendous honor for Itawamba Community College to be selected as one of the top 150 community colleges in the nation and to be afforded the opportunity to compete for the significant Aspen Prize,” said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen. “It is another indication of the success of the College, its continuing status as a premier community college and a testament to our exceptional faculty and staff, without whom it would not be possible.” The 2023 selection for Itawamba Community College is its fifth in a row. 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.” Student outcomes vary enormously among community colleges, and improving those outcomes is essential to securing the 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 those 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 for 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. The same commitment that stands at the center of the Aspen Prize: to advance the goals of social mobility and equitable talent development.” The eligible colleges represent the diversity and depth of the community college sector. Located in urban, rural and suburban areas across 34 states, these colleges serve as few as 230 students and as many as 57,000. In the 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 percent of community colleges (150 of the approximately 1,000 public two-year colleges nationwide assessed for the Prize) have been invited to apply. The next steps in the process include: Selection of the top 10 finalists by an expert panel of 15 experts in community colleges, higher education and workforce training, which will be announced in the 2022 spring semester. Fall 2022 site visits to each of the 10 finalists, during which the Aspen Institute and partners will collect additional information, including employment and earnings data and insights about promising practices. A distinguished jury will meet and make award decisions in the first quarter of early 2021 and Announcement of the Aspen Prize in late spring 2023. A full list of the top 150 eligible institutions is available at www.highered.aspeninstitute.org/aspen-prize. Related Articles ICC's Guntharp represents all 15 community colleges during significant C Spire MissiON announcement Itawamba Community College Systems Engineer Jason Guntharp of Fulton represented all 15 Mississippi public two-year institutions during a press briefing Thursday to announce their addition to a statewide science, engineering and technology research and development consortium called the Mississippi Optical Network (MissiON). Guntharp served as chair of the subcommittee, which assisted with the addition of Mississippi’s community colleges to the C Spire initiative. Additional speakers for the virtual press conference included Hu Meena, president and CEO of C Spire; Dr. Andrea Mayfield, executive director of the Mississippi Community College Board; David Sliman, CIO of the University of Southern Mississippi; and Jim Richmond, vice president of marketing for C Spire. They discussed the addition of community colleges to the network, the boost for distance learning, efforts to train and equip students for future jobs in Mississippi employers and benefits for the state’s economy through the MissiON network. “As Mississippi’s leading broadband communications provider, C Spire is proud to provide innovative, leading-edge technology and the latest fiber optic infrastructure to help expand the size of ... Aspen Institute names ICC as a Top 150 U.S. Community College Aspen Institute Names Itawamba Community College as a Top 150 U.S. Community College Eligible for 2021 Aspen Prize $1 Million Prize Recognizes Excellence in Equitable Outcomes for Students in and After College The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program today named Itawamba Community College as one of 150 community colleges 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. Based on strong and improving in student outcomes—including in learning, completion rates, employment rates and earnings and equity—15 percent of community colleges nationwide have been invited to apply for the Aspen Prize. “It is a tremendous honor for Itawamba Community College to be selected as one of the top 150 community colleges in the nation and the opportunity to compete for the significant Aspen Prize,” said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen. “It is another indication of the success of the College, its status as a premier community college and a testament to our exceptional faculty and staff.” The 150 community colleges named today as eligible to compete for the ... ICC joins in MACJC effort for legislative support JACKSON- In an effort to get the Mississippi Legislature’s attention, community college presidents, faculty and students reminded everyone at a Capitol building press conference Feb. 27 that community/junior colleges provide a vast array of educational and economic opportunities for everyone. “The annual MACJC Capitol Day is an opportunity for the 15 community colleges to have a unified voice since we are all working toward the same goal, which is to provide quality instruction while preparing students for successful futures,” said ICC President Dr. Jay Allen. Additionally, the two-year college system also provides a healthy return on every dollar spent on the nation’s oldest community college system. MACJC Legislative co-chair and Jones College President Dr. Jesse Smith encouraged legislators to “face the facts.” “For every dollar invested in the community college system, the return on the investment is four-dollars and eighty-six cents. That’s a worthwhile investment if you’re just talking about an investment but what about the people?” asked Smith. Long lists of facts were shared with the crowd, like ... ICC among nation's best Highlighting higher education attainment, the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program today named Itawamba Community College as one of the nation’s top 150 community colleges eligible to compete for the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence and $1 million in prize funds. “It is a tremendous honor for Itawamba Community College to be selected as one of the top 150 community colleges in the nation and the opportunity to compete for the significant Aspen Prize,” said President Dr. Jay Allen. “It is another indication of the success of the College, its status as a premier community college and a testament to our exceptional faculty and staff.” The Aspen Institute also selected ICC as a top community college in 2015 and 2017 and a contender for the prize, which is awarded every two years. It is the nation’s signature commendation of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges. With a singular focus on student success, the Aspen Prize recognizes institutions with outstanding achievements in four areas: learning; certificate and degree completion; employment and earnings; and high levels of access and success ... Community college faculty renew plea for funding, salary increases JACKSON – Mississippi has one of the lowest workforce participation rates in the United States, yet the 15 community colleges, which are ideally positioned to offer the programs that impact the state’s job growth, continue to be chronically underfunded. Mississippi has more than 40,000 job openings but the majority of those jobs require some education and training beyond high school, but not a bachelor's degree. Community college career and technical programs are demand-driven educational programs tailored in each community to meet local needs. The Mississippi Faculty Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MFACJC) wants to make sure legislators and communities understand how beneficial the community college system is to our state, said MFACJC President Mary Warren, who teaches at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. However, to make good on the promises of those benefits of a quality education, educational resources need to improve. That includes salary increases for faculty who have not had a state-funded raise since 2008, she said. “I can truly appreciate all the work our legislators do to make Mississippi a better place to live, but I think it’s time we fund ... ICC's Dr. Melissa Haab completes Community College Policy Fellows Program Itawamba Community College Dean of Enrollment Services Dr. Melissa Haab of Louisville was among 14 Alabama and 13 Mississippi community college administrators who recently completed the Community College Policy Fellows Program. The 10-month professional development program sponsored by the Alabama Community College System and the Mississippi Community College Board culminated in a trip to Washington, D.C. to advocate on behalf of college students in both states. “It was an honor to be selected and to participate in the program and to represent Itawamba Community College,” Haab said. “This experience allowed me to learn more about the community college systems in Mississippi and Alabama and gave me the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues across both states. I was able to broaden my professional skillset and will hopefully will be able to use those skills to benefit ICC and our students.” Directed by Tyson Elbert of Advocacy Build, LLC, the curriculum focused on four national program pillars: policy, leadership, networking and advocacy. It also highlighted comparative elements of both state systems. ... Showing 0 Comment Comments are closed. 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