The Alamo Colleges District is one of only two community colleges in the nation to receive the 2020 Leah Meyer Austin Award from Achieving the Dream (ATD). This national recognition is given annually to a college or colleges in the ATD network that show measurable improvement in student outcomes driven by top-to-bottom cultural change in the institution.
“To be selected as a Leah Meyer Austin Award winner, a college must have the commitment to make big, bold changes throughout the institution,” said Dr. Karen A. Stout, president and CEO of Achieving the Dream. “Alamo Colleges has the courage to make those changes in everything that impacts the ability of their student to be successful.”
“The Alamo Colleges District Board of Trustees drew ideas from ATD’s best practices and principles and the institutional capacity areas, on which it modeled its strategic framework for measuring
The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) has elected new leadership of its Board of Directors: Jacob Fraire, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Association of Community Colleges, will serve as Chairperson; Victor Kuo, Ph.D., Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness at Seattle Colleges and Founder of VK Global Advising, as Vice Chairperson; and Kristin Hultquist, Founding Partner of HCM Strategists, as Secretary.
"Hopefuls for the 2020 presidential election have unveiled their higher education policy agendas, which largely focus on emphasizing debt forgiveness and free tuition as means to make postsecondary education more accessible. The attention on college affordability is indeed merited. It is a top issue for many young Americans saddled with student debt.
But in an era of economic disruption from globalization and technological change, unidimensional investments in the demand side of higher education are insufficient to address the heightening economic inequalities and changing needs of our workforce. The conversation must also include the supply side of postsecondary education: the institutions themselves. And especially, it must include community colleges.
Community colleges are vital in providing the advanced training needed to adjust to new economic realities, especially for workers who
On November 6, the Texas Success Center recognized excellence in implementing and scaling guided pathways essential practices with the inaugural Texas Pathways Awards. The Texas Success Center presented awards to the colleges that have excelled in scaling essential practices in each of the four pillars of guided pathways and to the college that has made the most progress overall. In collaboration with the Charles A. Dana Center, the Texas Success Center also recognized one college that has excelled in the implementation of mathematics pathways.
Excellence in Implementation & Scaling: Paris Junior College
Mapping Pathways to Student End Goals: San Jacinto College
Helping Students Choose & Enter a Program Pathway: Amarillo College
Keeping Students on Path: Alamo Colleges District
Ensuring Students are Learning: McLennan Community College
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 5, 2019 — The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program today named the nation's top 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. Based on strong and improving 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.
Data show that over the last two years, student retention, graduation rates, and degree completion have improved at the top tier of 150 Aspen Prize-eligible colleges.
“Community colleges play a vital role in developing talent and enabling social mobility across the country, and it’s critical for them to get better at what they do,” said Josh
