15 Dec 2011
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Dr. Jill Biden and the leaders of the ten finalists for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. (Photo by Patrice Gilbert)
12 Dec 2011
LATI Named Top Five Community College In America By Aspen Institute
Author: schrunkn | Filed under: UncategorizedLake Area Technical Institute Shows Strong Results in Student Learning, Completion, Equity and Employment/Earnings After College; National Leaders in Business, Labor, Education and Philanthropy Endorse National Initiative to Spotlight and Foster Community College Excellence
Washington, DC, December 12, 2011 – Highlighting the need to improve student learning and graduation rates in community colleges — leading to good jobs — the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program today announced Lake Area Technical Institute as a “finalist with distinction” for the first annual Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, chosen from an original pool of over 1,000. ** (see list below)** The announcement follows a rigorous, yearlong effort by the Aspen Institute to assemble and review an unprecedented collection of data on community colleges and the critical elements of student success: student learning, degree completion and transfer, equity and employment/earnings after college.This is the first national recognition of extraordinary accomplishments at individual community colleges. The Prize celebrates these top performers both to elevate the community college sector nationwide and help other institutions understand how to improve outcomes for the seven million students — nearly half of all undergraduates in post-secondary education — working toward degrees and certificates in community colleges.
The announcement made today at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, involved leaders from across the fields of education, business, labor and philanthropy, including Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden, a longtime educator; Secretary of Education Arne Duncan; Aspen Institute President and CEO and Steve Jobs’ biographer Walter Isaacson; John Engler, former Governor of Michigan and President of the Business Roundtable; and highly respected former Secretary of Education and South Carolina Governor Richard Riley.
The naming of the winner follows an announcement of the ten finalists in September and the project’s unveiling at the White House Community College Summit in October 2010.
About Lake Area Technical Institute
Lake Area Technical Institute (LATI) achieves a graduation and transfer rate of 76 percent, almost twice the national average. All students enter LATI knowing that they will take a defined set of courses, remain with the same group students and have a great chance to graduate with a degree that results in immediate employment. Each student is provided a clear pathway to a degree or certificate as well as a community of students and instructors dedicated to each student’s success. Of LATI graduates, more than 90 percent secure jobs or continue their education, and graduates earn 22 percent more than other new hires in the regional labor market.
“The results achieved at LATI are incredibly impressive,” said Aspen’s Wyner. “With more than half of LATI’s students receiving Pell grants, the college still makes sure that more than three-quarters of its students get the skills they need to make a good living in twenty-first century job. In the process, LATI is strengthening its community and the regional economy. Colleges across the country have a lot to learn from LATI structure and work with employers.”
Instructors work hard to get to know their students and their aspirations, making sure to teach their students the skills employers need. Not surprisingly, local employers see LATI graduates as some of the best candidates in their fields.
“The structure developed by LATI has a huge impact,” said Wyner. “Students can’t slip through the cracks. They enter knowing exactly what they will be doing, and their everyday instructors make sure they stay on track. As importantly, the Institute has developed the kind of relationships with area professionals to make sure that students graduate with the specific kind of knowledge they will need to be successful in the workplace. LATI is making an enormous impact.”
Each “finalist with distinction” will receive $100,000. The Finalists with Distinction are: Lake Area Technical Institute (Watertown, SD); Miami Dade College (Miami, FL); Walla Walla Community College (Walla Walla, WA); and West Kentucky Community and Technical College (Paducah, KY). Valencia College, the Prize winner, will receive $600,000.
Community Colleges and the Economy
Community college students constitute nearly half of the entire US undergraduate student population. Out of the 13 million students enrolled in more than 1,000 two-year colleges nationwide, over half are working towards degrees and certificates. With four-year colleges and universities’ tuition escalating at over twice the rate of inflation (and costing up to $60,000 per year per student), community colleges are growing at four times the rate of four-year colleges. They serve as the most affordable option in higher education for millions of people in this country, who are more likely than other college students to be minorities and come from low-income backgrounds.
“Community colleges for too long have been under-appreciated,” said Richard Riley, co-chair of the jury that selected the winners — and former Secretary of Education and Governor of South Carolina. “By 2018, more than 60 percent of American jobs will require some kind of post-secondary qualification, and community colleges are uniquely poised to answer the needs of both employers and students looking for economic security.
“Community colleges share a common and vital purpose in preparing students of all ages, including working adults, for jobs and continued academic study,” added Riley. “For seven million Americans, they represent the most promising path to education and employment. But, for community colleges to fulfill that promise, we need to identify ways for them to boost student success — and that’s what this prize is all about.”
“The job training programs at these schools are incredibly important to America’s employers in search of skilled employees,” said John Engler, jury co-chair, former Governor of Michigan and president of Business Roundtable. “As the winners of the Prize show us, community colleges can help students achieve higher levels of success, translating into job-ready skills after their graduation. If other campuses followed the practices of Valencia and the other top community colleges, it would make a tremendous difference for students, employers and the economy as a whole.”
The Selection Process:
The winner and runners-up were selected by a “prize jury” co-chaired by Engler and Riley. The full membership, in addition to Engler and Riley, includes:
Anthony P. Carnevale, Research Professor and Director, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
David Leonhardt, Washington Bureau Chief, The New York Times
Joe Loughrey, retired CEO, Cummins, Inc.; Board member, Lumina Foundation
Wes Moore, author, The Other Wes Moore; military veteran; two-year college graduate
John Morgridge, Chairman Emeritus, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Janet Murguía, President and CEO, National Council of La Raza
Charlene Nunley, Professor and Program Director, University of Maryland University College’s Doctor of Management in Community College Policy and Administration; former President, Montgomery Community College
John Payton, President and Director-Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund
Jon Schnur, Chairman of the Board, co-founder and former CEO, New Leaders for New Schools
Note: Affiliations of Prize Jury members are listed solely for purposes of identification.
Each finalist was reviewed by multiple teams of educational experts who conducted extensive interviews and collected original data on completion, learning, equity and employment/earnings used by the Prize Jury to select the winner and Finalists with Distinction.
The original pool of over 1,000 community colleges was pared to 120 in April, based on a data formula created with assistance of an expert advisory committee. The data focused on college completion, improvement of completion performance over time and equity for under-represented students, based primarily on institutional data submitted to the federal government annually.
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The Aspen Prize is funded by the Joyce Foundation, Lumina Foundation, Bank of America Charitable Foundation and JPMorgan Chase Foundation.
The Aspen College Excellence Program aims to identify and replicate campus-wide practices that significantly improve college student outcomes. Through the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, the New College Leadership Project and other initiatives, the College Excellence Program works to improve colleges’ understanding and capacity to teach and graduate students, especially the growing population of low-income and minority students on American campuses.
For more information, visit www.aspenprize.org.
The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. It also has an international network of partners.
For more information, visit www.aspensintitute.org.
Now you can find out how much students (like you) pay for a year at Lake Area Tech. The helpful new “Tuition Calculator” can be found at http://www.lakeareatech.edu/future/financialaid/netpricecalc/index.html in the Financial Aid section. The calculator will ask a series of questions about your income, age, marital status, and living arrangements. Then it will compute the estimated yearly cost – after grant aid and scholarships but before student loans. Go ahead and get informed! For more information on Financial Aid and available Scholarships visit the LATI Financial Aid page or contact the Financial Aid department (605-882-5284, ext. 274, 254, or 255.)
3 Oct 2011
Keloland: Lake Area President Back From White House Visit
Author: schrunkn | Filed under: UncategorizedTHE WHITE HOUSE
Office of Communications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2011
White House Highlights President Deb Shephard and Lake Area Technical Institute as “Champions of Change”
In an increasingly competitive global economy, America’s economic strength depends upon the education and skills of its workers. In the coming years, nearly 8 in 10 new jobs will require higher education and workforce training. To meet this need, President Obama set a goal for America: to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.
America’s community colleges are essential to reaching that goal, and the President is working to support community colleges in graduating an additional 5 million students by the end of this decade.
Each week the White House highlights ‘Champions of Change’ who are making an impact in their communities and helping America rise to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Today, the White House invited Deb Shephard, President of Lake Area Technical Institute in South Dakota, to participate in a roundtable discussion on the positive impact of many community colleges across the nation. To watch this roundtable live, visit www.whitehouse.gov/live at 2pm EDT today.
Lake Area Technical Institute is a post-secondary technical college with over 1600 students enrolled in 27 different programs. Deb and Lake Area Technical Institute are being recognized by the White House for their high graduation rates and high rates of job placement. LATI credits its success to the use of individual graduation plans, an engaged staff, and close partnerships with businesses and industry.
Lake Area Technical Institute was recently selected as a finalist for the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, a $1 million annual prize to recognize, reward, and inspire outstanding outcomes in community colleges nationwide.
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