Golden West (again) Recognized as one of the Top 150 Community Colleges in the Country

GWC top 150 Community Colleges

Every two years, the Aspen Institute works with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems’ (NCHEMS) methodology to rank community colleges across the country.  Aspen uses nationally available data on institutional performance, improvement, and equity in student retention and completion to determine eligibility to the Aspen Prize. This is a rigorous process and schools are rated on the following criteria:

  1. First-Year Retention Rates. Defined as the percentage of first-time full- and part-time students in the fall semester who are enrolled the following fall semester.
  2. Three-Year Graduation Rates. Defined as the percentage of first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students in the fall semester that complete any formal award (certificate or associate degree) within 150% of normal program time or transfer out to another institution within three years.
  3. Certificates and Degrees Awarded per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Students. The number of students who earn credentials of one-year or longer in length per 100 full-time equivalent students.
  4. Annual Change in Retention Rates, Graduation Rate, and Certificates and Degrees Awarded per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Students. The most recent 5 years of data were used for retention rates, graduation rates, and credentials awarded per 100 FTE students.
  5. Graduation Rate for Underrepresented Minority Students. Defined as the percentage of first-time, full-time, degree-seeking minority students in the fall semester that complete any formal award (certificate or associate degree) within three years.
  6. Certificates and Degrees Awarded per 100 Full-Time Equivalent Students for Underrepresented Minority Students. Defined as the number of minority students who earn credentials of one-year in length or higher per 100 full-time equivalent minority students.
  7. Low-Income Service Area. Defined as the median family income of the institution’s Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA). Since community colleges tend to draw large percentages of their students from the areas in which they are located, it is reasonable to assume a high correlation between the income levels of students and the income levels of the residents in the college’s local area.

Golden West is proud to be listed among the top 150 schools for 2019.  Go Rustlers!