{"id":31867,"date":"2025-11-03T21:50:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T21:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/31867\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T21:50:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T21:50:15","slug":"the-aspen-institute-names-st-petersburg-college-among-top-200-u-s-community-colleges-eligible-for-2027-aspen-prize-st-petersburg-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/31867\/","title":{"rendered":"The Aspen Institute Names St. Petersburg College Among Top 200 U.S. Community Colleges Eligible for 2027 Aspen Prize || St. Petersburg College"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program<\/a> named St. Petersburg College (SPC) one of the Aspen Prize Top 200 U.S. Community Colleges eligible to compete for the 2027 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the nation\u2019s premier recognition of high achievement and performance among two-year colleges.<\/p>\n

The selection recognizes SPC\u2019s strong outcomes in student retention, completion, transfer and bachelor\u2019s degree attainment. Established in 2010, the Aspen Prize highlights colleges that deliver exceptional student success and equitable outcomes \u2014 both during and after college.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are honored to be recognized among the top community colleges in the nation,\u201d said Dr. Tonjua Williams, President of St. Petersburg College. \u201cThis acknowledgment reflects SPC\u2019s commitment to transforming lives through equitable access, student success and workforce innovation. We are proud of our faculty, staff and students whose dedication to excellence makes this possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

SPC\u2019s ongoing focus on completion and success is showing measurable results. In 2025, the College saw a 7% increase in graduation rates, a 3.4% rise in overall class success and a 1.6% increase in persistence, with notable gains among first-time college students. Withdrawal rates also fell sharply, dropping 25\u201329% year-over-year, signaling stronger student engagement and academic progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt St. Petersburg College, we are all working to improve course success and degree completion rates. It\u2019s rewarding to see that effort reflected in the progress our students are making,\u201d said Dr. Matthew Liao-Troth, Vice President of Academic Affairs. \u201cBeing named among the Aspen Prize Top 200 affirms that our student-centered approach and innovative programs are helping more students complete their goals and move into meaningful careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Aspen Prize process identifies colleges that demonstrate the potential for even greater impact and provides a roadmap for best practices across the community college sector. Over the next 20 months, eligible colleges will undergo a rigorous review based on student outcomes, learning, employment and equitable improvement practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Aspen Prize rewards colleges that achieve outcomes that truly matter \u2014 helping students complete degrees that lead to meaningful, well-paying careers,\u201d said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program.<\/p>\n

The 2027 Aspen Prize winner will be announced in Spring 2027 following multiple review phases, including semifinalist and finalist designations and site visits.<\/p>\n

See the full list of eligible colleges and details about the process here as.pn\/prize<\/a>.<\/p>\n

About the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program<\/p>\n

The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program strengthens higher education leadership and practice to improve student outcomes and advance economic mobility. For more information, visit highered.aspeninstitute.org and follow on LinkedIn, Bluesky and X. The Aspen Institute<\/a> is a global nonprofit organization that drives change through dialogue, leadership and action to help solve society\u2019s greatest challenges. Founded in 1949, the Institute is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a campus in Aspen, Colorado and partners worldwide. Learn more at www.aspeninstitute.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program named St. Petersburg College (SPC) one of the Aspen Prize Top 200…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-31867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}