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SBCC Ranked in Aspen Institute's List of Top 120 Community Colleges

April 24, 2012

For the second year in a row, Santa Barbara City College has been named as one of the nation’s top 120 community colleges by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.   SBCC, which was chosen from almost 1,000 accredited, public community colleges nationwide, was selected as one of the top 10 finalists in 2011- 2012. 

The Aspen Institute started the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence last year in an effort to identify the nation’s best community colleges and award $1 million in prize money. The Aspen Institute now challenges all finalists to compete for the prize funds to be announced in March 2013.  

SBCC Acting Superintendent/President Dr. Jack Friedlander said, “We are honored to be recognized for the second year in a row as one of the nation’s top community colleges.  This ranking validates on a large scale the core missions of SBCC which are student learning and achievement of their certificate, degree, transfer and career objectives.”

Last December, Dr. Friedlander represented SBCC as one of the top 10 finalists in the country at a special luncheon in Washington, D.C. which was attended by dignitaries including Dr. Jill Biden, wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and a community college instructor.  “The role of community colleges in re-energizing our nation’s economy and repositioning the U.S.as a major player in the global workforce of the 21st century were emphasized,” said  Dr. Friedlander. “It also was an honor to meet my colleagues from the other nine colleges that were named finalists.”

The Aspen Institute identified the 120 community colleges -- 10 percent of all institutions -- using a quantitative formula that assesses performance and improvement in four areas: graduation rates, degrees awarded, student retention rates, and equity in student outcomes.  These colleges will now compete for the top honors following a year-long research process into how well their students learn, complete degrees, and get jobs with competitive wages after graduating. 

"The success of our nation's community colleges is more important than ever before," said Aspen Institute College Excellence Program Executive Director Josh Wyner, who announced the names of the 120 top community colleges at the annual convention of the American Association of Community Colleges in Orlando, Florida.  "At a time when a college degree is essential to entering the middle class, community colleges offer the most promising path to education and employment for literally millions of Americans.  This competition spotlights excellence and helps raise the bar for all community colleges to improve student achievement and better prepare the next generation for the job market after college."

The 120 community colleges announced were selected from a national pool of over 1,000 public two-year colleges using publicly available data on student outcomes. The data focuses on completion, considered from three perspectives:

  *   Performance (retention, graduation rates including transfers, and degrees and certificates per 100 "full time equivalent" students)

  *   Improvement (awarded for steady improvement in each performance metric over time)

  *   Equity (evidence of completion outcomes for minority and low-income students)

These community colleges have been invited to submit applications containing detailed data on degree/certificate completion (including progress and transfer rates), labor market outcomes (employment and earnings) and student learning outcomes. They must demonstrate that they deliver exceptional student results for all students - including those who come from racial minority and/or low-income backgrounds - and also use data to inform decisions and continually improve over time.

Ten finalists will be named in September. The Aspen Institute will conduct site visits to each of the finalists in the fall. A distinguished Prize Jury co-chaired by John Engler, president of Business Roundtable, former Michigan Governor, and former president of the National Association of Manufacturers and Richard Riley, former South Carolina Governor and U.S. Secretary of Education, will select a grand prize winner and four runners-up, to be announced in March 2013.

In addition to SBCC, two other community colleges in California were named to the 120 colleges’ list: Coastline College in Fountain Valley and San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton.  For the full list, please go to: www.AspenPrize.org

About The Aspen Institute

The Aspen Prize is funded by America Achieves, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Joyce Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Lumina Foundation for Education.

The Aspen College Excellence Program aims to identify and replicate campus-wide practices that significantly improve college student outcomes.  Through the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the New College Leadership Project 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 www.AspenPrize.org

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has an international network of partners. For more information, visit http://www.AspenInstitute.org.