Amarillo College and Imperial Valley College Win Aspen Institute Prize for Community College Excellence
Amarillo College and Imperial Valley College has been chosen as winners of the Aspen Institute Prize for Community College Excellence.
Two of the nation's fastest improving community colleges, Amarillo and Imperial Valley are beating national rates by getting 8 and 12 percentage point improvements respectively, in graduation rates over four years. More than 50% of transfer students from Imperial Valley earn a bachelor’s degree within six years of entering community college – about 10 percentage points above the national average. Meanwhile, Amarillo graduates earn wages $11,000 higher than earned by other new hires in their region.
Given that the two schools both serve large rural areas with high rates of poverty and low rates of educational attainment, these achievements are particularly impressive.
