Contact: Kathleen Hohl, Communications & Events Director
414-297-6208 (office); 414-235-7105 (cell); hohlk@matc.edu

College Now Eligible for Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence

MILWAUKEE (May 2, 2011) - Milwaukee Area Technical College is one of 120 institutions vying for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The colleges were identified for demonstrating strong outcomes in three areas of student success:
• Student success in persistence and completion
• Consistent improvement in outcomes over time
• Equity in outcomes for students of all racial/ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Being recognized as one of the nation’s top technical/community colleges is a prestigious honor for MATC,” said Dr. Michael L. Burke, MATC President. “It is gratifying to have an esteemed organization like the Aspen Institute acknowledge our commitment to student access and success.”

A prestigious jury, which includes Dr. Jill Biden, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley and former Michigan Governor John Engler, will identify 10 finalists, as well as the winner of approximately $700,000 and three runners-up.

MATC, along with the other institutions, will submit information that details degree/certificate completion, labor market outcomes and student learning outcomes. Eight to 10 finalists will be named in September. The winner and runners-up will be announced in December.

Two other Wisconsin technical colleges – Moraine Park and Northeast Wisconsin – also were recognized.

The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues.

The Aspen College Excellence Program aims to identify and replicate campus-wide practices that significantly improve college student outcomes.  Through the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, projects targeting a new generation of college leaders, and other initiatives, the College Excellence Program works to improve colleges’ understanding and capacity to teach and graduate students, especially the growing population of low-income and minority students on American campuses.

The Aspen Prize is funded by the Joyce Foundation, the Lumina Foundation for Education, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, and the JPMorgan Chase Foundation.