Two North Carolina community colleges have been named as finalists for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, according to a Tuesday press release from the Aspen Institute.
Forsyth Technical Community College and Stanly Community College were named among the 10 finalists, selected from nearly 1,000 colleges nationwide for their success achieving strong student outcomes, “focusing on whether students complete credentials that lead to bachelor’s attainment and jobs that pay family-sustaining wages,” the release said.
North Carolina is the only state to have more than one community college make the list of finalists.
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The 10 finalists include:
- Chippewa Valley Technical College (WI)
- Forsyth Technical Community College (NC)
- Lorain County Community College (OH)
- Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (MS)
- Patrick & Henry Community College (VA)
- South Puget Sound Community College (WA)
- Stanly Community College (NC)
- Tallahassee State College (FL)
- Tri-County Technical College (SC)
- Wallace State Community College-Hanceville (AL)
“Student outcomes like those we see at the 10 finalists cannot be achieved without major reforms to programs of study, student advising systems, and other college practices that we know make a difference,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. “We’re excited to dive in and learn more about how these colleges accomplished these outcomes so that we can elevate their work and enable 1,000 community colleges nationally to achieve similar success.”
The Aspen Institute previously found 200 colleges eligible to compete for the prize in October, a list that included 20 of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges. After inviting these institutions to participate, 170 submitted applications. Forsyth Tech and Stanly community colleges were announced as semifinalists in early May.
No North Carolina community college has won the award since it was first awarded in 2011. The award website says one U.S. president described the prize as “basically the Oscars for great community colleges.”
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According to the press release, community college graduation rates have improved by over 13 percentage points nationwide in the last 25 years, but “post-graduation outcomes still need improvement,” as more than one-third of community college credentials do not lead to strong workforce outcomes or successful transfer and bachelor’s degree attainment.
To reflect this, the Aspen Prize recognizes finalists that have worked to improve both completion and post-completion outcomes, including “student learning, credential completion, labor market success, and transfer/bachelor’s attainment.”
For example, at Stanly Community College, 49% of students complete a community college credential within four years — compared to a national average of just 37%. At Forsyth Tech, between 2020 and 2025, the percentage of transfer students completing a bachelor’s degree increased by 11 percentage points, from 47% to 58%.
In a press release, Stanly Community College President John Enamait said it is an “extraordinary honor” for the college to be named as a finalist.
“What makes this moment especially meaningful is what it represents: thousands of students whose lives have been transformed through education and a dedicated team of faculty and staff who are committed to student success every day,” Enamait said in the release. “For a rural community college serving Stanly County and the surrounding region, this recognition demonstrates that excellence is not determined by size or geography.”
A press release from Forsyth Tech noted that the college’s selection as a finalist rests on outcomes built over six years under Vision 2025, which included goals to improve completion and increase economic mobility.
“This recognition belongs to our students. They finished what they started, and a national jury saw it. Our job now is to make sure the next student has the same chance,” said Forsyth Tech President Janet Spriggs in the release.
In a statement to EdNC, Devin Purgason, Forsyth Tech’s associate vice president for student experience, marketing, and outreach, said the college made student success “every department’s business” under Spriggs’ leadership.
“That’s not a small shift. It took six years of structural change, harder cultural change, and the daily work of hundreds of employees who decided their job included caring whether students came back next semester,” he said.
This fall, a team will conduct in-depth site visits to each finalist and review additional data. The winner, selected by an independent jury, will be announced in April 2027.
Aspen provides a free benchmarking tool with all the metrics used in the Aspen Prize to compare 1,000 community colleges at the outset of the selection process, including newly available data from the National Student Clearinghouse. Learn more and access the tool on Aspen’s website.
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