Valencia Named America's Top College

Valencia was recently named the winner of the inaugural Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The award comes with a $600,000 prize.

Dr. Shugart accepted the award just after 1:00 p.m. Monday, December 12, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., an event attended by Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education, and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden.

In August, at Academic Assembly, Dr. Shugart compared the nomination as a finalist to making it to the Final Four in college basketball. Well, today, Valencia has won the national championship!

This award is a great honor and a testament to Valencia’s success in achieving significantly higher graduation rates than peer colleges, ranking among the nation’s highest in job placement with rates at 95 percent, as well as developing the most productive transfer program in the country – thanks to a successful partnership with the University of Central Florida.

The Aspen Institute cited our focused dedication to learning as "defined by professors and administrators taking responsibility for student success, consistently asking what they each can do to improve student outcomes."

Congratulations to all of the dedicated faculty and staff that made this award possible.

To read more about the Aspen Prize and why Valencia was chosen as a finalist, check out the media kit on Valencia’s News site.