The college is proud to be in the running yet again to become a Top 10 finalist for the Aspen award.
By Abigail Johnson
Staff Writer
Anoka-Ramsey has once again made it into the top 150 best community colleges in the United States by the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. This program recognizes exceptional colleges in the United States and it is a huge honor to be awarded once again, after having been awarded as one of the top 10 best community colleges last year.
This is the college’s second time being honored as a top 150 community college. When searching for community colleges for this award, the Aspen Institute reviews many aspects of the individual colleges. Above all, they focus on student success from the school. The other four factors that they look at are learning, certificate and degree completion, employment and earnings and high levels of access and success for minority and low-income students.
From the list of the 150 top community colleges, the Aspen Institute announces the top ten best community colleges in the country in May of 2018. Since Anoka-Ramsey has earned a spot in the top 150, it has the chance to compete for the $1 million prize that is awarded to the #1 best community college in 2019.
ARCC President Kent Hanson is very excited about being awarded this honor. He stated that he thinks “that ARCC is a pretty special place that cares about our students and their success.” He also added that he has, “seen significant gains in our ‘unwavering commitment to student success’ and I believe that when we engage with the Aspen Institute representatives, it is clear to them that our commitment is infused throughout the organization.”
To read more on what the Aspen award is about and how the colleges are each selected, read these press releases from both the Aspen Institute and Anoka-Ramsey. This accolade is truly a distinction of what excellent students, faculty and staff Anoka-Ramsey has to offer. Congratulations to our students and faculty on working as hard as they do so that the college can put its best foot forward.