State Tech named to The Aspen Institute’s “Top 150 U.S. Community Colleges” list for 2023

Published on November 3, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Nov 2nd, 2021                                                                  

The Aspen Institute Names State Tech to its “Top 150 U.S. Community Colleges” list for 2023.

State Tech is proud to announce we have been named to The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. State Tech is honored to be considered one of the nation’s top 150 community colleges and the only college in Missouri to receive this honor.

“We are fortunate to be in a position where we have received a number of national rankings including WalletHub naming us the top two-year college for the last three years.   The Aspen Institute has a very rigorous selection process, making their list is something we are very proud of.  Our mission is to prepare students for profitable employment and a life of learning.  Being named to the Aspen Top 150 is positive confirmation that we are living out our mission.  said State Tech President Dr. Shawn Strong.

The statement below is from The Aspen Institute:

The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program today named State Technical College of Missouri as one of 150 community colleges eligible to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges. The colleges selected for this honor stand out among more than 1,000 community colleges nationwide as having high and improving levels of student success as well as equitable outcomes for Black and Hispanic students and those from lower-income backgrounds.

Based on strong and improving in student outcomes—including in learning, completion rates, employment rates and earnings, and equity—15 percent of community colleges nationwide have been invited to apply for the Aspen Prize.

State Tech is now eligible to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s colleges. With a singular focus on student success, 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.

State Tech was selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 public two-year colleges’ nationwide using publicly available data on student outcomes.

The top ten finalists for the 2023 Aspen Prize will be named in May of 2022. The Aspen Institute will then conduct site visits to each of the finalists and collect additional quantitative data, including employment and earnings data. A distinguished jury will make award decisions in spring or summer of 2022.

This latest recognition comes just a few months after State Tech was once again ranked the best two-year college in the country by WalletHub and recorded their fifth straight year of record first year enrollment.

For additional information, please contact Brandon McElwain at 573-897-5351.

Visit www.statetechmo.edu.