The College of Southern Maryland has been named today as one of 150 community colleges nationwide that are eligible to compete for the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance in America’s community colleges.
CSM was selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 public two-year colleges nationwide to compete for the $1-million Aspen Prize.
“CSM’s invitation to apply is a testament to our innovative initiatives across the college,” said CSM President Maureen Murphy. “These are exciting times for the College of Southern Maryland. We are moving the needle in student success, and the invitation from the Aspen Institute recognizes the efforts by CSM’s many dedicated staff and faculty who are working in concert to see positive changes occur in student outcomes. “
Awarded every two years since 2011, the Aspen Prize recognizes institutions with outstanding achievements in four areas: learning; certificate and degree completion; employment and earnings; and high levels of access and success for minority and low-income students.
CSM moves into the next round of the competition for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence by submitting an application to be reviewed through a rigorous evaluation for a spot on the top-10 Aspen Prize finalists list. These finalists will be named next May after which the Aspen Institute conducts site visits with each of the finalists and collects additional quantitative data. Winners including a grand prize winner as well as finalists with distinction and rising stars will be announced in spring 2019.
For information on the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program visit http://highered.aspeninstitute.org/aspen-prize/. For information on CSM, visit www.csmd.edu.