SWTJC named in 150 top US Community Colleges; eligible for $1M Aspen Prize

(Press Release) Southwest Texas Junior College was named as one of 150 community colleges eligible to compete for the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance in America’s community colleges.

SWTJC was selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 public two-year colleges nationwide to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize.

“Much of the credit goes to our team of faculty, staff, and administrators for their hard work and dedication to help students,” said SWTJC President Hector Gonzales. “Our main goal for the last couple of years has been to increase the number of students that graduate, by focusing our efforts to improve individual success.

Awarded every two years since 2011, 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 for minority and low-income students.

SWTJC will move forward to the next round of the competition for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence by submitting an application to be reviewed through a rigorous evaluation for a spot on the top ten Aspen Prize finalists list.

Top ten finalists will be named in May 2018. 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, finalist(s) with distinction, and rising star(s) in spring 2019.

SWTJC was a top ten finalists in 2011 for the inaugural year of the Aspen Prize.