On last Tuesday, the Aspen Institute has nominated San Jacinto College as a Finalist with Distinction for the 2021 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The Aspen Prize is the US' signature honor that recognizes community colleges with high achievements and performance.
The Aspen Prize has been held every two years since 2011, acknowledging institutions that accomplish exceptional student outcomes in key areas such as teaching and learning, degree completion and professional success.
“All of us on the Board of Trustees are so proud of everyone at San Jacinto College. We want to commend everyone for the work they do to ensure that students complete what they start. This is an exciting day for the College and the entire San Jacinto College community,” said Chair of the San Jacinto College Board of Trustees, Marie Flickinger.
Aspen Institute named San Jacinto College a top-five community college in the nation for several reasons, including its achievement to increase certificate and degree completion up to 168.37 percent from 2009 to 2019.
“The institution has been rigorously self-reflective about where it can do better, ambitious about scaling reform, and wholeheartedly committed to owning graduates’ success after transfer and in the workforce. Leaders have built remarkably strong partnerships with industry, leading to state-of-the-art training facilities constructed in collaboration with employers. San Jacinto College is not just responsive to employer needs, it also plays a lead role in developing key industries in the region, with exceptional workforce outcomes for alumni,” said Ruth Williams-Brinkley, president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Mid-Atlantic States and Aspen Prize jury co-chair.