SPSCC recognized as finalist with distinction for biennial community college excellence award 

South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) was named as a finalist with distinction for the 2025 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence by the global nonprofit Aspen Institute. The recognition comes with a $100,000 cash prize. 

The prize, awarded every two years, honors community colleges that produce excellent student success during and after college. 

“The Aspen Institute honored SPSCC for its high graduation and transfer rate, and the innovative approaches it takes to student success,” said Gideon Hertz, Associate Vice President and Deputy Director of Training Programs at the Aspen Institute, in an email to The JOLT News.  

According to the award document, the college recorded a 42% three-year graduation rate in 2023, which is above the national rate of 35%. 

The college’s 2023 six-year transfer rate to a four-year college or university was 37%, also above the national average of 31%. 

“While other colleges define student success as completing credentials, South Puget Sound focuses on a broader definition — both what happens in the classroom and whether students are prepared for what comes next, including securing a good job and earning a bachelor’s degree after transferring,” the award document stated. 

The award document also lauded the college’s strong teaching and learning systems, data-driven program review process, wraparound services to support students’ nonacademic needs, strengthened workforce programs, and financial programs that broaden access. 

In a news release, the college stated the Aspen Institute highlighted its responsiveness to local workforce needs, especially in health care, and also recognized the college’s workforce programs by shortening their length and working with employers to raise wages for graduates.  

“Being recognized as a Finalist with Distinction is a testament to the power of our community. …We are deeply honored to be seen as a model for what community colleges can achieve,” said Dr. Timothy Stokes, President of SPSCC, in a statement included in the news release.

This year, Southwest Wisconsin Technical College earned the $1 million top prize, with San Jacinto College being another finalist with distinction, along with SPSCC. Wallace State Community College-Hanceville won the Rising Star award. 

Process 

The College Excellence Program, stated the award document, engages in an extensive two-year process to assess student outcomes at community colleges, leading to 20 semifinalists, 10 finalists, and the winner and finalists for additional recognition. 

“To assess the finalist colleges, the Aspen Institute collects quantitative and qualitative data as well as extensive contextual data,” stated the document. 

Specifically, the finalists were assessed based on state unemployment insurance records matched with institutional cohort data, census employment and salary records, site visits and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Aspen Prize is supported by Ascendium, JPMorgan Chase, the Joyce Foundation and the Kresge Foundation, and has been supported in the past by the Siemens Foundation.