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The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program (www.aspeninstitute.org, 2011) recently released its rankings of the 120 best community colleges in the United States (the top 10 percent in the country), and challenged them to compete for the $1 million fund for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

The winner will receive an award of approximately $700,000, and two to three runners up will also receive awards--eight to 10 finalists will be named in September 2011, and the award recipients will be announced in December following site visits by the Aspen Institute to each of the finalists.

According to the Aspen Institute, more than six million students enroll in America's nearly 1,200 community colleges every year. "Unprecedented numbers of students are choosing to attend community college as the cost of four-year college grows increasingly out of reach for many families in America," Aspen Institute College Excellence Program Executive Director Josh Wyner said in a statement. "To ensure student success and fuel economic growth for communities and the nation, community colleges must--now more than ever--make a commitment to excellence and stronger student outcomes."

At an event announcing the top 120 community colleges, Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden (who teaches English at Northern Virginia Community College) said, "I am inspired by all of today's community college students--the workers who have returned to school to improve their job prospects, the mothers who juggle jobs and childcare while preparing for new careers, and those who work diligently while at community college, preparing to transfer to a four-year institution."

The 120 top community colleges were selected based on the following three criteria, each weighed equally (more detailed technical information on the selection process is available here):

• Performance (retention, graduation rates including transfers, and degrees and certificates per 100 "full-time equivalent" students)
• Improvement (improvement of completion performance over time)
• Equity (institutional record for completion outcomes for disadvantaged students)

The final award recipients will be chosen by a jury co-chaired by former Michigan Governor John Engler and former Secretary of Education Richard Riley. "I am thrilled about the Prize setting a high bar that will hopefully challenge all community colleges to graduate even more students with the skills, certificates and degrees America's 21st-century economy requires," Engler said in a statement.

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