November 6, 2019

For the fourth consecutive time, East Mississippi Community College has been named to the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program’s list of Top 150 Community Colleges in the Nation.

Released the afternoon of Tuesday, Nov. 5, the Aspen Institute list recognizes institutions for exceptional student outcomes in four areas: student learning, certificate and degree completion, employment and earnings, and high levels of access and success for minority and low-income students.

The colleges were selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 public two-year colleges nationwide.

The designation means EMCC is eligible to compete for the 2021 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, which is worth $1 million to the winning school. The prize, awarded every two years, is the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges.

The top 10 finalists for the 2021 Aspen Prize will be named in May 2020. The Aspen Institute will visit each of those 10 colleges to collect additional data prior to naming the grand prize winner in the spring of 2021. EMCC was selected for inclusion in the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program’s Top 150 Community Colleges in the Nation for contests that concluded in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

“The fact that EMCC has continued to earn a spot on the Top 150 Community Colleges in the Nation list is testament to the commitment of our faculty and staff in providing our students the best education possible,” EMCC President Dr. Scott Alsobrooks said. “Our students can rest assured that they are getting an education that is second to none at an affordable price.”

According to an Aspen Institute press release, 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,” Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program states in the press release. “We’re pleased to see evidence that these institutions are improving, that more are delivering on their promise. We’re also pleased to play a role in honoring outstanding community colleges and sharing what works to ensure great outcomes for students — through graduation and beyond.”