One of Washington’s many talented community
colleges, Walla Walla, was honored on Tuesday with the prestigious Aspen Award –
along with a $400,000 grant to grow their successful programs.
The national award recognizes a community college that does
an exceptional job at graduating students and preparing them for careers or
further education at a four year institution. Schools are judged on student
learning outcomes, degree completion, labor market success in securing good jobs
after college, and facilitating minority and low-income student success.
Traditionally the Aspen Award is presented to just one
community college, but Walla Walla shared the top honors with Santa Barbara City
College. The selection committee felt that both had excelled equally among the
criteria.
WWCC was chosen for its success in predicting and
meeting demand in new and growing industries. During the recession they were one
of the few rural community colleges to grow, primarily because of their
willingness to shrink or close programs and shift resources to more popular
areas.
The college doubled enrollment in their nursing program when
market research suggested an upcoming shortage, and they successfully
anticipated the explosive growth of Washington’s wine industry with their
viticulture program. Their efforts paid off for students as well: recent Walla
Walla graduates earn nearly double annual amount of other new hires in the
region.
Any mention of WWCC would be
incomplete without an acknowledgement of the work of the late Representative
Bill Grant. A consistent advocate and nine-year member of the
Board of Trustees, his years spent pushing to expand and promote the school
helped pave the road to this top honor.
