The Aspen Institute names Tri-County Technical College as a finalist for the 2027 $1 million Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence

 The Aspen Institute (Aspen) named Tri-County Technical College as one of 10 community college finalists for the 2027 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. The Aspen Prize is the nation’s signature recognition of community colleges that deliver value for their students.

Backed by $1 million in award funds, the Aspen Prize honors colleges that achieve strong outcomes, focusing on whether students complete credentials that lead to bachelor’s attainment and jobs that pay family-sustaining wages. 

“We are honored to be named an Aspen Prize finalist and are especially proud of how this recognition reflects our students completing, transferring, and launching into careers that sustain families and strengthen our region,” said Dr. Galen DeHay, president of TCTC. “From day one, we focus on clear pathways, strong advising, and close alignment with workforce needs to ensure our graduates succeed. This recognition reflects a shared commitment across our college to put student success at the center of everything we do,” President DeHay said.

TCTC consistently has the highest graduation rate, success rate, and transfer rate in the South Carolina Technical College System. Nationally, the College’s performance falls in the 90th percentile for student success and transfer, and Pell grant recipients who transfer from TCTC to Clemson University have the highest bachelor’s degree completion rates in the nation. Additionally, 93% of TCTC graduates are placed in a job related to their field of study, and nearly 72% of TCTC graduates are working in South Carolina 10 years after graduation—second highest for all higher education in the state.  

Over nearly two years, the Aspen Prize selection process examines data and reviews applications that reveal which colleges achieve strong and improving student outcomes in several areas, including student learning, credential completion, labor market success, and transfer/bachelor’s attainment. 

The Aspen Prize selection process began in October 2025, when Aspen applied a formula assessing student outcomes to select 200 colleges and invited them to apply for the prize. From the 170 that applied, a 15-member independent selection committee selected 25 semifinalists—and now 10 finalists—based on comprehensive outcomes data and evidence of the practices that led to those outcomes. 

In fall 2026, teams of experts will conduct in-depth site visits to each finalist institution and review additional data. The Aspen Prize winner will be selected by an independent Aspen Prize Jury and announced in April 2027.

“Student outcomes like those we see at the 10 finalists cannot be achieved without major reforms to programs of study, student advising systems, and other college practices that we know make a difference,” said Josh Wyner, executive director of the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. “We’re excited to dive in and learn more about how these colleges accomplished these outcomes so that we can elevate their work and enable 1,000 community colleges nationally to achieve similar success.”

To support community colleges in assessing their student outcomes, Aspen has developed a free benchmarking tool that includes the full set of metrics used to evaluate nearly 1,000 community colleges. The tool allows institutions to compare outcomes with top-performing peers, incorporating both data from federal sources and from the National Student Clearinghouse. Learn more about the benchmarking tool. 

The Aspen Prize is generously funded by the Ascendium Education Group and the Joyce Foundation. 

About Tri-County Technical College
Tri-County Technical College, a public two-year community and technical college serving Anderson, Oconee and Pickens Counties in South Carolina, enrolls more than 9,000 students annually and offers more than 70 major fields of study, including computer technology, business administration, mechatronics, nursing, and university transfer programs. Tri-County boasts the highest student success rate among two-year colleges in the state and ranks in the top one percent nationally for successful student transfers to four-year colleges and universities. To learn more, visit tctc.edu.  

About the Aspen Institute 

The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program aims to strengthen higher education leadership and practice to improve student outcomes—with the ultimate goal of advancing economic mobility and developing talent for the good of each individual and society as a whole. For more information, visit www.highered.aspeninstitute.org.

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization whose purpose is to ignite human potential to build understanding and create new possibilities for a better world. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve society’s greatest challenges. It is headquartered in Washington, DC, and has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, as well as an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.