The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program recently ranked Lake Area Technical Institute, of Watertown, and Mitchell Technical Institute as two of the nation's 120 best community colleges, challenging them to compete for the $1 million fund for the 2013 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.
The Aspen Institute identified the 120 community colleges -- 10 percent of all institutions. These colleges will now compete for the honor following a year-long research process into how well their students learn, complete degrees and get jobs with competitive wages after graduating. Prize winners will be announced in March 2013.
The inaugural Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence was awarded to the 70,000-student Valencia College (Orlando, Fla.) in December 2011. It was the first broad national recognition of extraordinary accomplishments at individual community colleges. Lake Area Technical Institute was a finalist and was ranked as one of the top five community colleges in the nation.
