Kingsborough Community College Named one of the Top Four Community Colleges in America by Aspen Institute College Excellence Program from More than 1,000 Nationwide

BROOKLYN, N.Y., March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dr. Regina Peruggi, president of Kingsborough Community College (KCC), today announced that  KCC, Brooklyn's only community college, was named one of the top four  community colleges in America by Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, the nation's signature recognition of high achievement and performance in America's community colleges. KCC, selected from an original pool of more than 1,000 community colleges, is one of four community colleges that will share the $1 million prize.

The prize recognizes the most outstanding institutions for achievements in four areas: student learning outcomes, degree and college completion, labor market success in students securing jobs after college, and minority and low-income student success.

"The selection of KCC as a top four community college by the Aspen College Excellence Program is a great honor for the entire Kingsborough community of students, faculty and staff," said Dr. Peruggi.  "We strongly believe that all students can succeed if given the opportunity, excellent teaching and appropriate support and we've worked hard to make that a reality for our large and diverse student body.  Our students come to us from over 142 different countries and speak 73 different languages.  They are the future of our city.  When they succeed, we all succeed."

"For so many New Yorkers, our City's community colleges are a crucial pathway to fulfilling careers and a better future for their families," said Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. "Kingsborough Community College has demonstrated the leadership and innovation that has helped New York City become a national leader in education reform. By focusing on helping their students graduate in a timely manner with the skills that are required in today's competitive marketplace, Kingsborough has earned this well-deserved recognition."

"Kingsborough richly deserves this recognition," said Matthew Goldstein, chancellor of The City University of New York. Kingsborough is one of CUNY's seven community colleges. "An impressive 60 percent of its students transfer to four-year colleges, compared to the national average of 26 percent. At a time when the economy demands more highly educated workers with both associate- and baccalaureate-level credentials, Kingsborough is delivering."

"Kingsborough Community College has achieved strong results in graduation, transfer, and employment outcomes while working with an extremely diverse group of students, many who face challenging life circumstances," said Josh Wyner, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. "Its staff and faculty are deeply committed to removing the roadblocks that keep so many community college students from finishing what they start."

In making the selection, Aspen noted  that "Kingsborough works hard to maintain access for a large multi-cultural, multi-ethnic majority low-income student body and has put in place a variety of academic and other support services to help students succeed. Most notable are its well-recognized and highly effective "learning communities," which group students together in linked courses and provide intensive individualized support. The administration and faculty continuously assess student performance and completion, and also offer strategies to help students overcome the non-academic barriers they face, like inadequate childcare, housing and transportation costs, and other concerns that would otherwise make it difficult for them to stay in and complete college. This cohesive approach has resulted in increased retention, graduation and transfer rates."

In addition to KCC,  the Aspen Prize finalists  are Santa Barbara City College (CA), Walla Walla Community College (WA) and Lake Area Technical Institute (SD).

Kingsborough Community College, a City University of New York (CUNY) college and Brooklyn's only community college, is ranked as one of the top four community colleges in the country.  It is located on a 70-acre campus in Manhattan Beach, on the southern tip of Brooklyn. The breathtaking campus overlooks three bodies of water:  Sheepshead Bay, Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.  It serves approximately thirty thousand students per year, offering a wide range of credit and non-credit courses in the liberal arts, career education, and specialized programs.  For more information, visit www.kbcc.cuny.edu.

The Aspen Prize is funded by America Achieves, Bank of America Charitable Foundation, Joyce Foundation, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and Lumina Foundation for Education

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.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/aspen-prize.

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.aspeninstitute.org.

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SOURCE Kingsborough Community College