For the sixth consecutive time Salina Area Technical College has been ranked among the top 150 community colleges nationwide.

According to the school,  the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program has named Salina Area Technical College one of the top 150 community colleges across the nation, and eligible to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.

Those 150 community colleges were selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 two-year colleges nationwide, using publicly available data on student outcomes, including completion rates, employment rates and earnings.

According to the Aspen Institute, data show that over the past two years, student retention, graduation rates and degree completion have improved among the top tier of Aspen Prize-eligible colleges.

“Community colleges play a vital role in developing talent and enabling social mobility across the country, and it’s critical for them to get better at what they do,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. “We’re pleased to see evidence that these institutions are improving, that more are delivering on their promise. We’re also pleased to play a role in honoring outstanding community colleges and sharing what works to ensure great outcomes for students – through graduation and beyond.”

This is the sixth consecutive time the Aspen Institute has recognized Salina Tech as being among the top 15 percent of two-year colleges in the nation.

“Those factors the Aspen Institute considers – student completion, employment rates and earnings – are really what define student success,” said Salina Tech President Greg Nichols. “And those are what we’re constantly looking at and trying to improve.”

The top ten finalists for the 2021 Aspen Prize will be named in May of 2020. Those Aspen Institute will then conduct site visits to each of the finalists and collect additional data, with the winning college announced in the spring of 2021.