1. What It Takes to Achieve College Excellence
Josh Wyner
Founder & Executive Director, Aspen College Excellence Program
Vice President, Aspen Institute
August 30, 2017

2. The Aspen College Excellence Program works to advance higher education practices, policies, and leadership that significantly improve student outcomes in four areas:
Completion. Do students earn degrees and other meaningful credentials while in college?
Equity. Do colleges work to ensure equitable access and outcomes for minority and low-income students, and others often underserved?
Labor market. Do graduates get well-paying jobs?
Learning. Do colleges and their faculty set expectations for what students should learn, measure whether they are doing so, and use that information to improve?

3. The higher education environment is changing rapidly.
Increasing accountability
Diminished state budgets
Drops in enrollment and competition with for-profit colleges
Economic challenges for students
The changing nature of work

4. By 2018, 63% of jobs will require workers who have some college education.
Percentage of jobs held by workers with some college education
Source: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Help Wanted (2010).

5. The changing nature of the college-going population.
Source: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Knocking at the College Door, High School Graduate Projections,  

6. The changing nature of Oklahoma’s college-going population.
Source: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Knocking at the College Door, High School Graduate Projections,  

7. Growth in college enrollment
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2011, Table 199.  

8. Version 2.0: Access + Completion
The definition about what outcomes matter is also changing.
Version 1.0: Access
Version 2.0: Access + Completion
Version 3.0: Access + Completion + Post-college Success

9. Legacy of Focus on Access
Increased course and program offerings to meet the increased demand associated with expanded enrollment.
Increased developmental education needs due to more underprepared students.
Young leaders moved into president and provost positions.
Legacy of Focus on Access

10. Version 2.0: Access + Completion
The definition about what outcomes matter is also changing.
Version 1.0: Access
Version 2.0: Access + Completion
Version 3.0: Access + Completion + Post-college Success

11. Trajectory of the Completion Movement
Remove barriers and level playing field
Plug leaky pipeline = developmental education reform
Build clearer pathways and restructure advising

12. Completion is not enough.
Students don’t aim to complete.
Not all degrees are created equal.
Some degrees don’t have independent value.
Opportunities at the program level are inequitable.
Completion is not enough.

13. Version 2.0: Access + Completion
The definition about what outcomes matter is also changing.
Version 1.0: Access
Version 2.0: Access + Completion
Version 3.0: Access + Completion + Post-college Success

14. Implications for Colleges and Universities
Build pathways with post-graduation success in mind.
Circulate information on post-completion metrics and focus on those measurements as a college.
Align internal plans and structures to post-graduation goals.
Partner in different ways: consider common goals and measurement, better communication, backbone structure.
Think of access in different ways.
Reorient leadership to new realities.
Implications for Colleges and Universities

15. Implications for Partners
Identify and pursue common goals with shared measurement.
Devise new efficient and effective partnerships to develop talent.
Support investments in talent development.

16. What Excellent (Community) Colleges Do1
Strong Leadership and Organizational Culture 2
Guided Pathways to Continuing Education and Well-Paying Jobs 3
Intentional Focus on Improving Teaching and Learning 4
Aspen Prize finalist colleges demonstrated intentional strategies for addressing the challenges of completion, budget pressures, and accountability, while always staying focused on student success. These strategies are evident throughout the five themes of exceptional practices that emerged from site visits.
Strategic Data Use to Improve Practice and Close Equity Gaps 5
Partnerships and Structures Aligned to Defined Student Outcomes

17. More information The 2017 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence
What Excellent Community Colleges Do (Harvard Ed Press, 2014)
Crisis & Opportunity: Aligning the Community College Presidency with Student Success
Hiring Exceptional Community College Presidents: Tools for Hiring Leaders Who Advance Student Access and Success
Structural Equity: Big-Picture Thinking & Partnerships That Improve Community College Student Outcomes
The Transfer Playbook: Essential Practices for Two- and Four-Year Colleges
Online: