The Aspen Institute has named eight Kentucky community colleges with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to its top 200 list.
That naming makes those institutions eligible to compete for the $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence in 2027—and one those colleges is local. Madisonville Community College is among the eight, along with West Kentucky Community and Technical College and Elizabethtown Community and Technical College in western Kentucky.
The top 200 list is developed based on student outcomes data, including retention, completion, transfer and bachelor’s attainment rates. The $1 million award is the nation’s premier recognition of high achievement and performance for two-year colleges.
The $1 million Aspen Prize — awarded every two years — recognizes community colleges that achieve high and improving levels of student success in areas including teaching and learning, certificate and degree completion, transfer and bachelor’s attainment, workforce success and college and program access.