COON RAPIDS, Minn. – (Sept. 22, 2016) – It has the lowest cost for tuition and fees of any public or private higher education intuition in Minnesota. Now Anoka- Ramsey community college has a new accolade – finalist for the Aspen Prize. “I know that our college does great things and to get recognition from such a great prestigious award is really great for us,” said Anoka-Ramsey Community College President Kent Hanson. “What the Aspen prize means to us is recognition for all the hard work that our faculty and staff do throughout the year,” said Vice-President of academic and student affairs Deidra Peaslee.
Now in it’s sixth year, the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence honors the finest community college in the nation. “They’re trying to come up with the best community college in the county. For us we were in the top 150, then we made the top 10, now we’re competing for the top spot,” said Hanson. Anoka-Ramsey is the only school in Minnesota to make the list. And at least one student leader is not surprised. “I already know we are one of the best campuses not only in the state but I tell everybody that Anoka-Ramsey is the best place to come. Not only are we affordable, but the atmosphere, you can’t compare it to anywhere else,” said student senate President Becca Larson.
Larson came here to study business management, but says the it’s the every day experiences that keep her here, and make her happy that she made the decision to enroll. “The family atmosphere, that fact that Anoka-Ramsey really does care about their students,” said Larson.
The Aspen Prize looks at factors like learning outcomes and job placement as they are picking their finalists. But that’s not all. “They look at a variety of quantitative datas such as graduation rates, how our low-income, first generation, students of color do in comparison with our other students. They look at our overall graduation rate, our retention rate, and what’s really interesting about that is they start with our quantitative data and they delve more into the qualitative aspects of our institution which they identify through some interviews,” said Peaslee. In the coming months they will meet with the Aspen Prize committee to share the story of their campus, and make a pitch for the one million dollar prize.
“First and foremost the faculty and the staff that work here are truly are just truly committed to student success. I think what we provide is different for every single student because they come to us with so many different needs,” said Peaslee. “I don’t think we have a typical student. We have students that are coming to school for the first time, have never been to school, moms, dads, grandparents, and kids still in high school. We don’t have a typical student here and we all can find a sense of family and a sense of community here,” said Larson. Anoka-Ramsey will find out whether or not they take home the top prize in March.
