EMCC named among Top 150 Colleges in the Nation

East Mississippi Com­munity College has been named to the Aspen In­stitute College Excel­lence Program’s list of Top 150 Community Col­leges in the Nation for the fifth time since 2015.

The colleges were se­lected from a pool of nearly 1,000 public two-year colleges nationwide, according to a Nov. 2 press release by the Aspen Institute.

The list recognizes insti­tutions for exceptional student outcomes in five areas: teaching and learn­ing, certificate and de­gree completion, transfer and bachelor’s attain­ment, workforce success, and equity for students of color and students from low-income back­grounds.

“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,” the press re­lease states.

The designation means EMCC is eligible to com­pete for the 2023 Aspen Prize for Community Col­lege Excellence. A $1 mil­lion prize purse will be divided by the winning college and finalists. In past years, the top prize winner typically received $600,000, with four final­ists receiving $100,000 each. The prize, awarded every two years, is the nation’s signature recog­nition of high achieve­ment and performance among America’s com­munity colleges.

About 15 percent of community colleges na­tionwide made the list and were invited to apply.

“Leaders of exceptional community colleges un­derstand that achieving excellence requires ex­panding college access and increasing degree completion, but it doesn’t stop there,” said Josh Wyner, executive di­rector of the Aspen Insti­tute College Excellence Program. “They are com­mitted to ensuring that all students—including students of color and those from low-income backgrounds—graduate with the skills needed to secure a job with family-sustaining wages or suc­cessfully transfer to and graduate from a univer­sity. That same commit­ment that stands at the center of the Aspen Prize: to advance the goals of social mobility and equitable talent de­velopment.”

The top 10 finalists for the 2023 Aspen Prize will be named in spring/sum­mer of 2022. Representa­tives for the Aspen Institute will visit each of those 10 colleges to col­lect additional data prior to naming the grand prize winner in late spring of 2023. EMCC was previously selected for inclusion in the Aspen Institute College Excel­lence Program’s Top 150 Community Colleges in the Nation for contests that concluded this year and in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

“To be included in the Aspen Institute’s list of Top 150 Community Col­leges in the Nation once is an honor,” EMCC Pres­ident Scott Alsbrooks said. “To make the list for a fifth time is an accom­plishment of which I am very proud. EMCC fac­ulty and staff work very hard to ensure our stu­dents are getting an ex­ceptional education, while also identifying and addressing potential bar­riers to their success. Our EMCC team is committed to improving educational outcomes for all of our students.