BREMERTON — The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program named Olympic College as one of the nation’s top 150 community colleges, Jan. 25.
The designation makes Olympic College eligible to compete for the 2017 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence and $1 million in prize funds, as well as Siemens Technical Scholars Program student scholarships.
It’s the second consecutive time OC has been deemed eligible to compete for the Aspen Prize. The first time, the college was named one of the 10 best community colleges in the United States.
The prize, awarded every two years, is widely considered the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges and recognizes institutions for exceptional student outcomes in four areas: student learning, certificate and degree completion, employment and earnings, and access and success for minority and low-income students.
Nearly half of America’s college students attend community college, with more than seven million students — youth and adult learners — working toward certificates and degrees.
“Community colleges have tremendous power to change lives, and their success will increasingly define our nation’s economic strength and the potential for social mobility in our country,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.
“This competition is designed to spotlight the excellent work being done in the most effective community colleges, those that best help students obtain meaningful, high-quality education and training for competitive-wage jobs after college. We hope it will raise the bar and provide a roadmap to better student outcomes for community colleges nationwide.”
Olympic College has been invited to submit an application to the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence containing detailed data on degree and certificate completion (including progress and transfer rates), labor market outcomes (employment and earnings), and student learning outcomes.
Ten finalists will be named in fall 2016. The Aspen Institute will then conduct site visits to each of the finalists and collect additional quantitative data. A distinguished Prize Jury will select a grand prize winner and a few finalists with distinction in early 2017. In 2015, Olympic College was named a top 10 finalist.
OC has campuses in Bremerton, Poulsbo and Shelton. In addition to certificates, associate’s degrees and transfer degrees, OC offers bachelor’s degrees in applied science and nursing. OC also hosts Western Washington University Center, which offers undergraduate degrees in five fields at OC Poulsbo and undergraduate and graduate degree programs at OC Bremerton.
A full list of the selected colleges and details on the selection process are available at www.aspenprize.org.
The Aspen Institute is a nonpartisan educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. Members of its 72-member board of directors include former U.S. secretaries of state Madeline Albright and Condoleeza Rice, Yahoo News anchor Katie Couric, former Walt Disney Co. CEO Michael Eisner, Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates, former presidential adviser David Gergen, former U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, former CNN chairman Walter Isaacson, and cellist Yo Yo Ma.
