Improving community college completion rates is a vital national priority. Their open access and affordability have benefitted millions of Americans, but now the nation must get more community college students successfully through to high-wage career opportunities and further education. In setting America’s sights on retaking the global lead in postsecondary education, President Obama focused unprecedented attention on the key role community colleges must play.

In response to the President's leadership on this issue and in recognition of the education and workforce imperatives facing our country, the Aspen Institute, the Joyce, Lumina and W.K. Kellogg Foundations, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the charitable foundations of Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase, and America Achieves have partnered to launch the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

The purpose of the Aspen Prize is to recognize community colleges with outstanding academic and workforce outcomes in both absolute performance and improvements over time. By focusing on student success and lifting up models that work, the Aspen Prize will honor excellence, stimulate innovation, and create benchmarks for measuring progress.

Click here to view an overview of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.